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“I was working with these kids after the damage had been done, and it was like trying
to put a Band-Aid on a floodgate.”
McCall decided that a good prevention program would teach parents in the African-
American community how to raise children who would be successful adults,
emotionally, psychologically and academically. He believed whole families could
benefit from education and support.
So 13 years ago, McCall founded D’Veal Family and Youth Services. The community-
based agency offers both prevention and treatment programs for children, foster
children and their families. These programs include computer training, tutoring,
counseling and child abuse intervention.
Its free summer school at New Revelations Baptist Church in Pasadena has 100
students from the second to the sixth grades. Children work on their writing, math and
athletic skills each day. The activities enrich their minds and keep them off the streets,
McCall said.
The name D’Veal comes from his mother’s side of the family in Alexandria, La.
Growing up, McCall remembers there was always an uncle or other relative that helped
him out when his mom wasn’t around. The families he works with today aren’t so
lucky, he said.
“Families now are so scattered and stressed out,” said McCall, 49. “They don’t have
the resources to deal with children who are misbehaving.”
Through D’Veal, the Altadena resident created school-based mental health programs
at John Muir High School in Pasadena, Altadena Elementary and Burbank Elementary
School in Altadena. The Pasadena Unified School District allows D’Veal employees to
work independently at each site.
One therapist, based at Altadena Elementary School, said her clients include children
who struggle with sexual abuse, domestic violence and depression. She says D’Veal
prides itself on it’s holistic approach.
“We’re very much in the community,” one therapist said. “We work with the individual
and the family. We see them in school and talk with the teachers.”
“I know we’re making a difference when the behavior problems subside, or when
parents get more involved in their children’s lives.”
D’Veal’s prevention programs educate families in the community about child abuse
and depression, while its treatment programs work to resolve each child’s issues.
Working at the school and visiting the child’s home allows social workers, at D’Veal to
more effectively treat each client, McCall said.
Before McCall started his agency, he was a social worker for 10 years at a well-known
counseling agency and was manager of one of the oldest residential treatment
facilities in Southern California. When he opened D’Veal, he and his employees
started off working as subcontractors to both of these agencies.
In 1993, D’Veal had fewer than 10 workers. Today, the agency boasts a staff of 105
counselors, social workers and summer school teachers who serve more than 500
children each year.
D’Veal’s employees say the success of the organization is directly related to McCall
himself. “He is a man who has a mission,” D’Veal Youth Academy Principal, Tonia
Mutlak said. “He’s a one-man army, and is relentless in making sure these kids have
social activities and a safe environment.”
McCall got a bachelor’s degree in social work at Northwestern State University in
Natchitoches, La. and then earned a master’s degree in social work at the University of
Houston. He moved to Altadena 26 years ago. His wife Juanita works with him as an
office manager. They have three daughters; Shai 24, Terry, 22 and Sheena, 19.
McCall is also the pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Pasadena, and was
named the 2005 Pastor of the Year by the Pastor’s Aid Team of Los Angeles.
He likes his job, but the business of helping families has its hardships. Budget
restrictions sometimes prevent the agency from helping children who don’t have health
insurance.
McCall says he is now trying to raise $120,000 in private funds to purchase laptops
and small printers for each of his social workers to use when they’re in the field. He
also wants to dedicate more of his energy to the church, and is looking for someone to
help him with the day-to-day tasks of running the agency.
On a recent afternoon, McCall visited some of the children shooting hoops during a
physical education period. A basketball fan himself, McCall smiles as the kids
cheered their classmates on during speed drills.
“It’s a joy you can’t even describe,” McCall said about running his agency. “You realize
as an adult, it’s not about you. It’s about the kids - -they’re the next generation. All the
stresses are worth it when you see them happy and successful.”
Article by Ivy Dai 08/11/2006 Printed with permission of the Pasadena Star News
to put a Band-Aid on a floodgate.”
McCall decided that a good prevention program would teach parents in the African-
American community how to raise children who would be successful adults,
emotionally, psychologically and academically. He believed whole families could
benefit from education and support.
So 13 years ago, McCall founded D’Veal Family and Youth Services. The community-
based agency offers both prevention and treatment programs for children, foster
children and their families. These programs include computer training, tutoring,
counseling and child abuse intervention.
Its free summer school at New Revelations Baptist Church in Pasadena has 100
students from the second to the sixth grades. Children work on their writing, math and
athletic skills each day. The activities enrich their minds and keep them off the streets,
McCall said.
The name D’Veal comes from his mother’s side of the family in Alexandria, La.
Growing up, McCall remembers there was always an uncle or other relative that helped
him out when his mom wasn’t around. The families he works with today aren’t so
lucky, he said.
“Families now are so scattered and stressed out,” said McCall, 49. “They don’t have
the resources to deal with children who are misbehaving.”
Through D’Veal, the Altadena resident created school-based mental health programs
at John Muir High School in Pasadena, Altadena Elementary and Burbank Elementary
School in Altadena. The Pasadena Unified School District allows D’Veal employees to
work independently at each site.
One therapist, based at Altadena Elementary School, said her clients include children
who struggle with sexual abuse, domestic violence and depression. She says D’Veal
prides itself on it’s holistic approach.
“We’re very much in the community,” one therapist said. “We work with the individual
and the family. We see them in school and talk with the teachers.”
“I know we’re making a difference when the behavior problems subside, or when
parents get more involved in their children’s lives.”
D’Veal’s prevention programs educate families in the community about child abuse
and depression, while its treatment programs work to resolve each child’s issues.
Working at the school and visiting the child’s home allows social workers, at D’Veal to
more effectively treat each client, McCall said.
Before McCall started his agency, he was a social worker for 10 years at a well-known
counseling agency and was manager of one of the oldest residential treatment
facilities in Southern California. When he opened D’Veal, he and his employees
started off working as subcontractors to both of these agencies.
In 1993, D’Veal had fewer than 10 workers. Today, the agency boasts a staff of 105
counselors, social workers and summer school teachers who serve more than 500
children each year.
D’Veal’s employees say the success of the organization is directly related to McCall
himself. “He is a man who has a mission,” D’Veal Youth Academy Principal, Tonia
Mutlak said. “He’s a one-man army, and is relentless in making sure these kids have
social activities and a safe environment.”
McCall got a bachelor’s degree in social work at Northwestern State University in
Natchitoches, La. and then earned a master’s degree in social work at the University of
Houston. He moved to Altadena 26 years ago. His wife Juanita works with him as an
office manager. They have three daughters; Shai 24, Terry, 22 and Sheena, 19.
McCall is also the pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Pasadena, and was
named the 2005 Pastor of the Year by the Pastor’s Aid Team of Los Angeles.
He likes his job, but the business of helping families has its hardships. Budget
restrictions sometimes prevent the agency from helping children who don’t have health
insurance.
McCall says he is now trying to raise $120,000 in private funds to purchase laptops
and small printers for each of his social workers to use when they’re in the field. He
also wants to dedicate more of his energy to the church, and is looking for someone to
help him with the day-to-day tasks of running the agency.
On a recent afternoon, McCall visited some of the children shooting hoops during a
physical education period. A basketball fan himself, McCall smiles as the kids
cheered their classmates on during speed drills.
“It’s a joy you can’t even describe,” McCall said about running his agency. “You realize
as an adult, it’s not about you. It’s about the kids - -they’re the next generation. All the
stresses are worth it when you see them happy and successful.”
Article by Ivy Dai 08/11/2006 Printed with permission of the Pasadena Star News