Michael Luevano, Communications & Development Director, Jennifer Grier, Chief Clinical Officer and Christopher Rebboah, Executive Director
F
ounded in 1897 as the Odd-Fellow
Rebekah Children’s Home of
Northern California, the organiza-
tion opened its doors to orphaned children,
providing an incredible service to the com-
munity.
Rebekah’s continues their service to the
community today with the expansion of
comprehensive mental health, social, and
educational services and programs for chil-
dren and families.
With three sites; Gilroy (the organi-
zation’s headquarters), Monterey, and
Campbell, Rebekah’s currently serves over
3,000 families annually.
“RCS is there for families and children
to let them know they are not alone,”
Christophe Rebboah, Chief Executive
Officer, said.
“We want them to walk right through
our doors, and ask the questions, and we
will guide them, and walk beside them.”
For Michael Luevano, Communications
and Development Director, his focus is on
educating and informing the community
about the new direction RCS is headed.
“We have our new strategic plan, our
mission statement, we’ve really revamped
everything,” Luevano said, adding that
“it’s family services that we provide, it’s not
strictly children.”
For licensed Clinical Social Worker
Jennifer Grier, it’s all about helping
individuals find the resources that work
for them.
“While we may not have the exact
specific service that they may need, we
definitely want to be with them while we
find that service, and do a warm handoff
to whoever that is,” Grier said.
RCS’s entire staff, totaling 230,
works vigilantly to meet the needs of
the community through the services and
programs offered at Rebekah’s.
“With our residential group home we
offer a heavy therapeutic element. We
want residential to be seen as therapeutic
intervention; that allows it to be much
more short term than in past history,”
Rebboah said.
The hospital diversion program catches
the child as they step down from the hos-
pital and serves as a prevention method to
keep them from being hospitalized.
“It serves both purposes,” Rebboah said.
RCS is heavily involved in the Gilroy
school district, offering school-based mental
health programs at school sites, removing
the barrier to accessing care, and providing
education services to the entire community.
With the Family Resource Center
(FRC), people can access resources, such as
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2016
parenting classes, along with other
tools and skill sets that they may
incorporate into their everyday lives.
Gilroy resident, Brian Harrigan,
attended his first parenting class at the
FRC in early 2014, after he and his wife
divorced.
“My kids, just like everybody’s kids,
didn’t come with a manual. I was looking
for ways of reaching them, and helping
them be on the right track, so I started
coming to the classes,” Harrigan said.
Now, almost two years later, Harrigan
not only continues with the classes, he’s a
volunteer with the program. His commit-
ment stems from his belief that what the
classes offer, “is for everyone.”
“I think Rebekah’s provides that kind of
fellowship that makes you feel like, okay,
I’m not in this all alone. I’m around people
who have gone through what I have gone
through.”
Rebekah’s recently-revised mission state-
ment communicates exactly that. No one
is alone in what they are going through in
life. RCS is committed to seeing their com-
munity flourish, “by building pathways to
hope, happiness and wellbeing.”
“We really want everyone that walks
in our doors to have walked in the right
door,” Grier said.
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