Pair From NYFS Receiving Statewide Honors

By John Voket

Since she moved here in 2001, Layne Lescault has come to believe that the local Youth & Family Services agency “is one of the best things about Newtown.”

“The agency fills a need for so many families where both parents have to work,” she told The Bee this week.

The volunteer took a moment to compliment another committed worker at the agency, Kayla Christeson.

“Kayla is really one of our success stories, she’s irreplaceable,” Ms Lescault said of the young woman who helps coordinate information coming in to the agency.

Apparently the good work of these two local community builders has not gone unnoticed, because on May 15, after this issue of The Bee went to press, the pair was scheduled to be recognized as Family Champions at the Connecticut Council of Family Services Agencies (CCFSA) Celebration of Family Champions, at the Trumbull Marriott from 3:45 to 6 pm.

According to a release sent in advance of the event, the Celebration of Family Champions program promotes the mission of the CCFSA through recognition of the efforts and dedication of one nonmanagement staff member and one volunteer board member from each council member agency.

In letters to Ms Lescault and Ms Christeson informing them of their nominations, Newtown Youth & Family Services (NYFS) Executive Director Beth Agen also lavished praise on the two.

“At every organization, the product is only as good as the people who have the talent and skills to create it. As a family service agency, we don’t have a product per se, unless you can say a changed life or family pattern is [our] product,” Ms Agen wrote. “And it is the talent, skill and dedication of our staff and board members at the end of the day that will change lives for the better.”

One of the most well-attended aspects of the agency’s most successful annual fundraisers, the Holiday Festival, is the Festival of Trees, Ms Agen pointed out.

“It takes enormous time and energy to organize and display, and for many years, Ms Lescault was the chief architect of the event,” she said.

In 2006 Ms Lescault was “promoted” to co-chair the entire Holiday Festival. And last December, she took on the role as sole chairman of the 2007 Holiday Festival, working single-handedly overseeing logistics for the entire event.

“Now, not only has she agreed to chair the event again for 2008, but she has also joined the NYFS Board of Directors and jumped right on board as a member of both the finance and personnel committees,” Ms Agen said.

Turning her attention to her young staffer, Ms Agen writes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression and that’s why NYFS is so lucky to have Ms Christeson’s voice as the first that many children and families in crisis hear when they call for help,” Ms Agen said. “Kayla is always calm, polite, and understanding.”

The agency exec said Ms Christeson often times goes out of her way to assist a caller when someone is looking for a program or service that NYFS does not provide.

“Kayla will happily ask another staff member to look up a phone number or search the Internet for information that will help a caller find an answer or solve a problem,” Ms Agen added.

She said her agency co-workers love Ms Christeson for her “sweet smile, contagious laugh, and wicked sense of humor.”

She currently works for NYFS during the day and attends “The Afterschool Program” at Newtown High School, working toward her high school diploma in the late afternoon and early evening. While Ms Christeson tells The Bee that she is not sure she will pursue a career in social or family services, she is “proud to work for NYFS.”

She said she first came to the former Newtown Youth Services agency looking for work not knowing very much about the organization. But in short order she was learning about the agency’s important work from both Ms Agen and board chairman Chris Gardner.

While she is pleased to be recognized as a “Family Champion,” the humble teen said she makes her best contributions “behind the scenes.”

“Basically I just try to make sure information that is coming into the agency gets to the right person between our office here [on Church Hill Road], and the other office [on Mt Pleasant Road],” she said.

Ms Christeson said it puts a big smile on her face when she hears young people hanging out at the NYFS office talk about their future plans.

“I think it’s great that we offer so many programs to prevent or help keep kids from developing bad habits,” she said.

NYFS is a licensed, nonprofit, mental health clinic and youth service bureau, and the official youth agency for the town.

In addition to providing outpatient counseling services to individuals — children and adults — families, and groups, NYFS provides positive youth development programs and is home to the offices of the Newtown Prevention Council. NYFS programs and services are offered regardless of ability to pay.

To find out more about Newtown Youth & Family Services, call 270-4335 or visit www.newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org.