Pinnacle Community Services

Mental health - provides outreach Services which include support and linkage to Community Services such as housing, income assistance, food stamps, medicaid and medical treatment to niagara county adults and children with mental illnesses and/or chronic health conditions in order to increase the individual's ability to live independently. Services are also provided to the family member of the individuals with mental illnesses in order to help the family members understand specific disabilities, which can result in increased communication, improved quality of life and the prevention of family crisis.

Passage/shelter - provides emergency shelter, support groups, case management and counseling to individuals who are victims of domestic violence.

Healthy families/parenting - identifies families with young children who are at risk of abuse and neglect and provides education and support to foster the emotional, phychological and physical welfare of young children. Assists pregnant and parenting women with young children and also provides a fatherhood advocacy program to promote fathers participating in parening. Also, provides parenting education for families at-risk of poor outcomes for their children due to neglect, abuse or other factors.

Family center - the family center is a not for profit office building which was built 12 years ago as a central location for not for profits to rent, at non profit rates, and build relationships; and there is a Community room which any Community nfp can use for free if they invite Community members to join. Many partnerships were developed by the collaborative environment of shared space. Programs for teens, girl scouting events, small group therapies, tax preparation and many other interactive Community Services that truly made a difference. The fc was full and amazingly interactive until the pandemic. However, when hybrid work came around and office space was abandoned, so was the funding that many of our partners used to fund their offices and support space at our family center. This meant they had to make financial decisions that affected the center and the Services. Even while this was happening we continued to offer the use of our facility to vaccination opportunities, blood banks, school based youth programs and others. And, we continue to look for new tenants at the discounted nfp rate.we now have only two outside organizations which rent from us; native american Services and the girl scouts. We also offer parent empowerment Services from one of the offices as niagara county dss will no longer allow us to use their facilities for our visitations. We offer dv survivor groups and art healing classes for both the survivors and their children. And, we often get outside visitors who use the Community room. We have a board ad hoc committee working on options for the use of space within our family center to see how it can be utilized, if possible or if we have other alternatives to fund not only the space, but service delivery opportunities that make a difference in our community.youth Services - sometimes running away seems to be the only option left to a youth. Frequently it is not, but a youth may need time and professional guidance to explore other options. Casey house is a twelve-bed co-ed short-term emergency shelter for runaway, homeless, 'at-risk and 'throwaway' youth up to the age of 18. Crisis intervention Services are available 24/7 in order to respond immediately to a youth in need. The youth can contact casey house directly or the youth may be referred by a parent, guardian, school staff, law enforcement personnel or other concerned individuals. When a youth enters a shelter, their parents or legal guardians are notified that the youth is in the shelter in a safe location. The casey house staff maintains on-going contact with the family or guardian while the youth is in the shelter. A casey house staff member can assess the crisis and offer Services based on the needs of the youth. Short-term, crisis-oriented counseling is provided; and the staff will work with the youth and family to help resolve the current crisis and to help them learn new ways of communication to prevent family issues from reaching crisis status in the future. If additional issues are present, the family and/or youth are referred to long-term counseling. This is frequently the case because running away is often a symptom of underlying problems with the family system. Casey house works closely with other Community service providers to ensure that the youth is linked with appropriate Services in the Community. Family reunification is the goal when possible, and in those cases when reunification is not an option the casey house staff work to facilitate an alternate stable living environment for the youth.3-d "dare, dream, drive" offers a safety net for youth experiencing hardships and skill-building opportunities to enhance some self-sufficiency skills. This program is designed to work with youth for a minimum of 3 months, up to a year of support Services. The qualifying criteria include:- youth who are literally homeless, at imminent risk of homelessness or fleeing violence- children who are 12-24 years of age- youth residing in the city of niagara falls and niagara county- youth agrees to participate in the programtransitional Services: many youths in the Community are struggling to make the transition to young adulthood, but they do not need emergency shelter Services. The transitional Services program is available to youth ages 16 to 21 years old to help them learn the skills necessary to become strong, independent young adults. Services are provided free of charge and often include:- residential assistance- educational assistance- counseling- job hunting /interviewing skills- social Services (dss) assistance- medical assistance- skills to help young adults become independent and self-sufficient- youth can meet with the transitional youth Services worker at casey house shelter or in other Community settings.the youth engagement center (yec) is Pinnacle Community Services' innovative facility dedicated to offering a fun and safe environment for youth in our Community. Our programs are available at no cost, thanks to the generous support we receive. We are committed to adapting to the evolving needs of niagara county's youth, understanding that their well-being is crucial for the future of our communities. In addition to our core programs, the yec serves as a hub for other youth Services provided by Pinnacle Community Services, including the 3d program for homeless youth aged 12-24 and casey house, our shelter for runaway and homeless youth aged 17 and under.