Youth Eastside Services (YES) has partnered with the Robert Vasen Foundation to provide services and support for youth who have been affected by the drug and/or alcohol addiction of a family member.

The gift will complement pilot programming announced last year for Camp Mariposa made possible by The Moyer Foundation, founded by All-Star MLB pitcher Jamie Moyer and wife Karen. In 2007, YES and The Moyer Foundation created a camp aimed at helping youth who have been affected by drug and/or alcohol abuse in their homes by the drug and/or alcohol addiction of a family member.

Based on research performed by YES, there is no comparable camp of its kind in the U.S.

With the help of the Robert Vasen Foundation, YES will be able to provide a year of aftercare with counseling and support services for youth following their three-day Camp Mariposa experience.

“We are honored to work with these two leading organizations,” said David Vasen, Executive Director of the Robert Vasen Foundation. “Camp Mariposa serves an unmet need in the community and we believe these new follow-on programs will extend its impact to help youth overcome very difficult circumstances.”

The Robert Vasen Foundation was established to honor the life of Robert Jonathan Vasen (born April 16, 1985), an active member of the Eastside community.

Camp Mariposa launched in the fall of 2007 and is designed for grades 3-6, with the overall goal of developing participants’ understanding of drug and alcohol issues, to raise their awareness of resources available to help them, and to reduce their sense of isolation.

YES anticipates reaching 50 to 100 such clients in the camp’s first year.

The Moyer Foundation is providing full funding for the pilot program for an entire year, for up to five camp sessions, while the Robert Vasen Foundation will sponsor all aftercare programming.