Eckerd Community and Home Outreach (ECHO) Program:
Helping Teens Stay at Home, in School and Out of Trouble

The Eckerd Community and Home Outreach (ECHO) Program is a youth skill-building, mentoring and tracking program. Youth ages 10 to 20 years old are referred to ECHO by the District 3 Louisiana Office of Youth Development (OYD).

ECHO helps teens stay at home, in school and out of trouble by utilizing a team concept including the teenager, the parent(s), the ECHO counselor, OYD staff and the community. An individualized treatment plan is developed for each youth, and ECHO counselors:

• Meet face-to-face with the youth seven days a week to provide mentoring, tutoring and life skills training
• Meet with the parent(s) at least once each week to provide guidance and support
• Has daily phone contact with the youth to ensure curfews are being met
• Support achievements in school and work
• Keep the Louisiana Office of Youth Development informed of the youth’s progress
• Educates the family on what support in available in the community and how to access it

How You Can Help

Contribute Your Time – If you have time to spare, you can mentor, tutor or just help the youth with their homework.   Let us know how much time you can volunteer and when you would like to do it, and we will provide you with everything you need to make a tremendous change in a young person’s life.  You can also volunteer to become a member of our advisory board.

Contribute Your Expertise – Do you have a job skill you could teach a teenager?  Can you help our youth find jobs in the community?  Can you help coach a youth in job interviewing skills?  We can use your help!

Contribute School Supplies – A surprising number of teenagers who are having trouble in school are not doing well simply because they don’t have the supplies – book bags, notebooks, pens, paper, calculators, and other items.

Make a Donation – Our youth are in need of the extra money required to join sports leagues, boys and girls clubs, and a variety of extra curricular activities that will keep them active in the right kinds of activities that build character and self-worth.  Donations are tax deductible and can be specifically targeted to a specific item.