Youth Services, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary two years ago, has announced that it is changing its name to Interaction: Youth Services & Restorative Justice to be clearer about what they do and how they do their work.
According to Youth Services’ Executive Director Russell Bradbury-Carlin, they are not changing their identity or their focus; rather the organization is increasing clarity about its scope and approach.
“Our mission remains identical: to work together to build resilience and be a catalyst for change in Windham County, Vermont communities,” Bradbury-Carlin emphasized.
“Our youth programs serve individuals ages 10-24 while our restorative justice programs have served both youth and adults for several decades. Despite how attached we are to the name Youth Services, our staff, board – and clients – have felt it is important for our name to reflect the fullness of what we do,” he stated.
“Interaction will continue its focus on building readiness and resilience with young people who are often marginalized and historically underserved,” stressed Bradbury-Carlin. “We do this through innovative and effective programs that provide emergency shelter, housing, case management, counseling, workforce development, peer support and mentoring,” he said.
An award-winning after school program for middle through high school students is the agency’s Friends for Change, a play-based youth center in Bellows Falls designed for and by youth who have stories of resilience.
“Our programming at FFC is specifically for youth who have experienced trauma associated with poverty, discrimination, or in some instances, experiences with foster care or family instability,” explained Bradbury-Carlin. And though it has provided transitional housing for young people for decades, emergency housing in both Brattleboro and Bellows Falls for young adults is Interaction’s newest offering.
The agency’s many restorative justice programs focus on repairing harm caused to individuals and the community, while identifying and addressing the needs of the person responsible for the harm.
Interaction’s longest-running program, Adult and Juvenile Court Diversion, started four decades ago for individuals who are able to acknowledge accountability for the actions that led to their being cited for a criminal offense.
“Participants in Court Diversion are always referred to us – and our panels of volunteers – by the VT State’s Attorney Office,” clarified Bradbury-Carlin. “Clients have an opportunity to address and seek support, often in-house at Youth Services, for underlying issues that may have contributed to their decisions and actions, such as addiction, unemployment, housing or mental health challenges,” he explained.
According to Bradbury-Carlin, when the Brattleboro Community Justice Center joined with Youth Services in 2021, it brought with it long-standing programs such as Circles of Support and Accountability. “In this program, skilled volunteers support individuals recently released from prison in the challenging transition back to the community after incarceration,” he said.
Since the merger, three new initiatives have started, including a partnership with Groundworks Collaborative and staffing to resolve conflicts between neighbors, businesses and schools through training and conflict facilitation services.
Interaction also has a small, but growing clinical department which provides counseling to clients of the agency, and increasingly to referrals from outside the agency. Two clinicians provide one-to-one counseling, family therapy, and various assessments including for substance use, according to Bradbury-Carlin.
“We are a dynamic, ever-evolving community-based organization that responds to the needs of Windham County,” stated Bradbury-Carlin, who has been at its helm for eight years.
“We have to be nimble and thrifty and willing to be on the cutting edge of new approaches to youth development and restorative justice,” Bradbury-Carlin attested. “We’re pleased that our name has now caught up with all the exciting things we’re doing. We are Interaction because relationships are the intervention throughout the organization!”
To learn more about Interaction, donate or get involved, visit interactionvt.org, email info@interactionvt.org or call (802) 257-0361.
