Staff Spotlight: Gabriella Hall
If you ask YCCS team member Gabriella Hall about her superpowers, she will give you the same answer that she gives to her six-year-old daughter: I’m the strongest person in the world.
“She’s thinking physically, which I want her to believe, too,” says Gabby. “But I believe I am a very strong person mentally.”
In her role as Housing and Victims Coordinator, Gabby flexes that mental strength every time she connects with our youth. In the last two years, she has offered a range of support: placing youth into our emergency shelter, providing crisis intervention, helping them find jobs and access to other resources in the community. She also personally understands just how valuable these services can be for our local youth.
“Growing up in Sonoma County, SAY was always a place we could go to as teenagers to receive additional support,” says Gabby. “When I was 16, I worked for the summer youth program.”
Now that she is on the other side of this service, Gabby is especially proud of the role that she plays in helping young people: “It’s extremely rewarding to go home at the end of my workday knowing that I was able to help another young person steer away from homelessness.”
Gabby’s team appreciates her collaborative approach to meeting challenges, and her ability to quickly analyze a situation to prevent any potential problems.
“Gabby embodies what it means to be a team player,” says Matt Barnes, Director of YCCS. “She has a strong ability to think critically in real time.”
Beyond her work at SAY, Gabby has a full schedule. She finds herself outdoors a lot these days, thanks to both her daughter’s soccer schedule and the boundless energy of their new puppy, Cielo. When she isn’t at the park, you will find her studying. Gabby is pursuing her goal of earning a BA in Business Administration and looking forward to what the future brings.
Thank you for all your incredible work, Gabby!