Life Can Be Challenging.
You Don’t Have to Face it Alone.
Counseling, education, prevention, and support for children, teens, young adults, adults, couples, and families throughout Orange County.
How Can We Help You?
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I'm Concerned About My Teen.
Get help with substance use, school issues, or behavior concerns.
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I'm Looking for Counseling.
Individual, teen, adult, family, or couples counseling for any life challenge.
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I'm a School or Community Partner.
Programs and support for students and families.
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I Want to Support CYS
Your support helps us change lives and strengthen our community.
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DECEMBER 2022
Margie has been with us through the entire process and became an adult that our daughter trusted. I am so happy I took the chance and called CYS.
-Tara Green, CYS Parent
In Loving Memory
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Shanon had so many wonderful qualities and we have so many beautiful memories it is difficult to list them all.
Shanon had a warm beautiful smile and an infectious laugh that filled the room whenever she was present. She loved to go to the softball batting cages. She was a loving “big sister” to her brother and sisters.
Shanon loved to play cards but hated to lose. She gave big hugs whenever she greeted you and was a friend to everyone. She loved to dance. Shanon’s time on earth was too brief, however, she left a lasting impression and a positive legacy. She is missed by all who knew her, but we know in our hearts that someday we will be together again.
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Kevin was known to be the best friend you could ever have. He gave the best bear hugs and kisses. He would never say goodbye without saying I love you. Kevin’s greatest treasure was his big brother, Tim. Their brotherly love had no boundaries. Kevin enjoyed wrestling since the second grade and proudly displayed the many trophies and medals he earned. He was very loyal to his friends and always helped the underdog.
Kevin’s spriit and fight will always live among his family friends. Kevin’s preventable death ripped a hole in our hearts that can never filled. We all hurt without him.
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First child. First grandchild. He was very bright and inquisitive growing up to a height of 6’6” in which is friends literally looked up to him.
While playing varsity basketball at Los Alamitos High School, he was voted MVP. Brian was awarded the National Merit Scholar and scored 1590/1600 on his SAT and carried a 3.8 GPA.
Brian enjoyed reading, watching the Simpson’s on TV, and drank Gatorade by the gallons. Most memorable was is great sense of humor and big heart. Brian was a loving son, grandson, big brother, cousin, and friend to many.
Brian Rakusin continues to live in our hearts.
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The loss of our precious daughter Karla-Rae to a drug overdose has been absolutely devastating to our family. The continual deep pain and sense of loss is never ending. Karla was an outstanding student at school and college, she always performed at the highest level and for her to choose to take a drug cocktail at a camping party is very difficult to understand and accept. Once we came to realize the escalating dangers of substance abuse to our youth we searched for a community based program whereby Karla could tell her story through us to her friends and larger peer group. We subsequently joined CYS as it gave us the forum to address both parents and children at the same time thus ensuring that the family listen to Karla's story and hopefully gain the strength needed to fight this scourge. We know that Karla is with us every day to help us in the fight to save lives.
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Alisa attended Clovis and Gilbert High Schools, Saddleback College Cosmetology School, and FIDM. She worked in Advertising and Marketing at various companies in Orange County. Alisa loved rock n roll music, tattoos, and making up song lyrics. She played the electric guitar and dreamed of becoming a rock star. She was very artistic with a unique flair, always ahead of the fashion and design trends. She had a loving kind-hearted soul and helped others to overcome their difficulties. Alisa was devoted to her cats, and helped to rescue many orphaned cats. Family and friends will forever feel her absence from this world.
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Daniel had a heart of gold. He had dreams big dreams. He wanted to become a businessman with goals to fund world missions. His desire was to help others who struggled and hoped they would come to know the love of God. Daniel was raised in Los Alamitos where he attended school and excelled in academics and sports. He loved basketball composing music and singing. During his junior year in high school his mom noticed a change in his mood. He seemed withdrawn and appeared to lose interest in all the things he once enjoyed. He struggled with anxiety and insomnia.
At 17 he was prescribed medication to help with anxiety insomnia and depression. Daniel did not like the idea of taking pills and was concerned with the social stigma that accompanied it. But after a few months he started to improve and the doctor suggested taking him off the medication to see how he did. However, after a few months the symptoms returned worse than ever. But he didn’t want to see the therapist again. He’d say “I’m not crazy Mom. Please stop trying to force this.” But Daniel continued to struggle and eventually turned to marijuana. He said it helped him sleep. While competing in track and field he met kids who were open about taking Xanax. Xanax use was popularized in music and it was easily accessible. Things that were once stigmatized had become popular through the culture and became a youngster pastime. Daniel thought it was safe because his doctor had once prescribed it and he could finally sleep at night. But he became addicted. On Snapchat he was referred by a friend to a young man who was selling what appeared to be pharmaceutical grade pain medications. On September 15th Daniel asked to buy what he thought was prescription-grade Percocet. It was not. It was pure fentanyl...a lethal dose. Daniel died that night. He was deceived by someone who seemed trustworthy. One pill killed him. Fentanyl seems distant till it becomes personal and it kills.
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"Sutton had a great sense of humor and loved being social! He always took a little extra time with people to greet them, something that is rare in today’s world. His community will remember him for his gentle ways, smiling face, and for being polite and mannerly even at a young age."
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VICTIM OF DRUG INDUCED HOMICIDE
POISONED BY FENTANYL
March 12, 1990 ~ January 22, 2020Learn More
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Connor was both very intelligent and athletic. We were blessed with a child who was naturally gifted at almost everything he tried, but the thing we were most proud of was not the academics (GATE, Honor Roll) or the various sports teams he was on (All-Stars, Varsity Soccer and Varsity Swimming). What really made our hearts swell with pride was the way he played with young children. He seemed to have endless patience, and he really enjoyed making them laugh and have fun which is what made him such a great gymnastics coach to the younger kids. He was applying to university to study as a teacher, and he would have been absolutely amazing.
More about Connor
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Alexander Hastings Neville, 14 years old, died on 23 June 2020 due to poisoning by fentanyl—a drug he mistook for something else. He self-medicated due, in some part, to the fact that he did not realize how much he was loved by everyone who came into contact with him.
Alexander was a normal, average teenager with a loving and supportive family. He had always been a kind and generous person who touched the lives of so many. Even in the later phases of his life when he smoked weed and used pills he continued to exercise the gift he had of being a kind person and a great friend.
Big ideas became Alex’s hallmark early. Whether becoming Tony Stark when he was 1.5 years old or considering a career as the director of the Smithsonian, he often thought to the future. His ambitions followed his interests in history and a tendency to learn everything about subjects he cared about. He sought to share his interests with his family and friends, even hosting one of his birthday parties with his friends at a Civil War reenactment.
Alex was always introspective about his place in the world. He was very caring and sensitive. Alex felt deeply and empathized with others. Because of this, he courageously fought his impulsiveness and would make heart-felt amends if he hurt others.
Alexander competed with himself to be successful with everything he did. He pushed himself to be a better skateboarder, a better gamer, a better Boy Scout, a better fencer, a better student, a better friend, and a better person. He persevered and generally met success.
Later in life, Alex began to hurt inside and he got tired of trying so hard. He kept skating, but he also started to learn how to numb himself with marijuana. Even then, Alexander employed his intelligence and curiosity to learn the pharmacology and horticulture of hemp. He then began to explore more effective ways to numb his growing negative feelings. This led him to pills such as Xanax and later on OxyContin in his last 9 days. It turned out that he was being sold fentanyl, a cheaper and more deadly alternative that killed him quickly one night.
Alexander is one of many victims of fentanyl poisoning. A second chance is something that all victims of similar tragedies deserve yet never received. Alexander could not be saved but there are many more that can be.
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Michael's smile and energy lit up a room. He was intelligent, articulate, hysterically funny, passionate, sweet and drop dead gorgeous. He excelled in football, baseball, basketball, wrote songs and poetry, and loved his big brother, family and friends with a fiery passion. To know him was to love him and so many people did. There is no pain or loss that will ever come close to the loss of my youngest son Michael to the ravages of drug addiction. Michael had just been released from a local hospital with medications recalibrated to treat his bi polar disorder. 10 days later, on November 10th, 2004, he was found dead, his heart twice the size of a normal heart. Cause of death Hypertrophic Heart Disease, a direct result of continued abuse of prescription and street drugs. He was a ticking time bomb and we had no idea. I began working with CYS and JADE after speaking at length with Flo Mulhere a few months after Michael died. I truly did not think I would survive the loss of my son and she told me that helping others would help me to make more sense of Michael's death. Our collective story could help others. She was absolutely correct. I speak because I know it saves lives and is unique in that it allows me to reach both parents and children, each in a different and profound way. I know that Michael is very proud that his story is helping others and he stands very near me every time I speak. I wish there had been a CYS available to my family many years ago. I truly believe my story might have been very different.
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Joey Campbell is missed greatly because of his great heart and love for his family and friends...he touched our lives with his incredible smile and sincerity. Joey developed a love for surfing and snowboarding throughout his life, but always enjoyed basketball more than anything else. It was the game of basketball that allowed him to become a leader and a friend to his teammates. He will forever live in our hearts.
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Jeffrey was born on October 8, 1992. He was a beautiful, healthy and happy baby who grew into a thoughtful teenager - a prankster who was always laughing, smiling, and surrounded by friends. Jeffrey attended Tustin High School where he had a diverse group of friends and everyone was drawn to be close to Jeffrey. Jeffrey would say this about himself…”I’m a very social person, I am easy to talk to, and I don’t judge people. I believe everyone is unique in their own way.
On September 11, 2008, Jeffrey died from a prescription drug intoxication. His death was not intentional.
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To know Joey, was to love Joey. On September 15th, 2018 – heaven gained another angel. Joey Cymerint was one of those people that needed no introduction. He was the light in every room and a friend to everyone. Joey battled addiction from a very young age. His mission when he was sober was to help others stay sober and he did that in every way possible. So many of the people that walked through his addiction with him attribute their sobriety to him. Unfortunately, the one person Joey could not save was himself. He lost the battle, but his spirit lives on to hopefully win the war for many others. We started this foundation to bring more awareness to the disease of addiction. We hope to make a difference within our local communities by opening our eyes to the ins and outs of this disease, while providing resources to help individuals battling it.
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See Lucas’s memorial page by clicking here.
Get Involved
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We specialize in many issues and can help in many areas. We are here to guide you to the appropriate program or service that fits your individual situation.
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When you volunteer with CYS, you make a positive impact on your community – and that makes it a better place for our youth and their families.
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Together, we're making a difference – and you can, too. Make a tax-deductible donation or participate in a fundraising event to benefit our clients.