OUR MISSION
Embedded Files
To offer sustainability support to underrepresented communities—specifically African American, Latino, and Native Americans. We empower minorities by providing essential resources for long-term stability and success. By fostering economic opportunities, we unite communities impacted by gentrification, cultivating a sense of belonging while preserving Seattle’s rich cultural heritage and diverse history.
OUR VISION
Securing and sustaining access while transforming our community beyond mere statistics.
IMPACT
Integrated Stabilization
CYC provides coordinated support across housing, behavioral health, education, and employment.
The organization operates as a central access point, connecting clients to immediate resources while continuing support through placement, stabilization, and long-term independence. This is not a single-service model It is a continuous system of care designed to reduce instability at every stage.
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Cornerstone Youth Collective (CYC) was founded by Miss Kay Becknell after working across multiple systems and seeing the same pattern repeat.
Services existed, but they were not coordinated. Timelines did not match real conditions. Clients were expected to navigate systems that were not built to move with them.Working in shelters, behavioral health, housing, and schools, she saw how often outcomes were determined not by need, but by how systems were structured to respond.
CYC was built as a response to that gap. The organization was designed to operate across housing, behavioral health, education, and employment, not as separate services, but as one coordinated model. Programs were structured to connect through a single system so support does not break between agencies.
The approach is direct. If a barrier exists, it is addressed.
If a system cannot move fast enough, support does not stop.
CYC reflects the conditions it was built in and the systems it works within. It was not created from theory. It was built from experience.
Coordinated Service Model
CYC delivers services across multiple areas of need, including housing assistance, education, employment, and community integration.
Clients enter through a centralized intake model and are connected to the appropriate level of support based on assessed needs. Services are coordinated internally rather than outsourced across agencies. This structure allows support to remain consistent, responsive, and aligned with real-time conditions.
Sustained Stability
CYC remains engaged with clients beyond initial placement or service connection. Case management includes ongoing coordination, advocacy, and support to ensure clients maintain stability across housing, health, and daily living.
The focus is long-term outcomes, not short-term intervention. Clients are supported through transition, not just entry.
When systems cannot move fast enough, CYC ensures clients still do.
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