EMQ - Is Silicon Valley's local treasure for helping children in troubled homes or dealing with…read moremental health issues by providing whole family services. I was reading some old blog posts from the late Leonard McKay and came across a great tidbit of local history on orphanages and the founding of Ming Quong (the MQ in EMQ's name today). http://www.leonardmckay.com/2005/11/21/presbyterians-and-prostitutes/ Nice to see some of our local institutions still providing invaluable services to our community.

Was told to stop crying on the phone, no therapy provided, watched movies all day, wouldn't care if…read moreyou don't eat, threaten to sedate and restrain you if you cried, psychiatrist don't listen to you, do not go here

A wonderful organization that enables caring adults the opportunity to work with children through…read morethe courts. It is very enriching to both the children and the adults who participate. I did it for about 20 years and loved every child I was fortunate enough to interact with.

Discriminatory practices against volunteers-in-training. Not just discriminatory, but…read moretraumatizingly so. A day before being sworn-in to become a CASA, I was told that the organization does not want me to continue with them, because they had made horrible assumptions about my character and personality, including that I was arriving to trainings inebriated (which they told me only as they were kicking me out of the program, not in any way that was a question, like: "are you inebriated? were you inebriated?", instead: "Some people thought you may have been" -- oh, some people thought, that's a good reason to keep a person from volunteering with foster youth. I'm glad you're not working with the law or anyth- oh, right), as well as that I was too enveloped in my own trauma to help (my mistake for letting them know I had experienced trauma in the past when they asked me. I guess I should have lied, since from then on out, everything I said, they assumed was me talking about trauma). They left me broken. Do you know how heartbreaking it is to have a plan like this, know how you're going to work with foster kids and youth and help them feel heard, walk through life feeling like you have this goal and working towards it -- then not only being stopped from it, but being told that people think you're weird? That when you thought you were being helpful in group discussions, in training sessions, they were writing you up for being drunk? I wasn't actively traumatized before, and I don't know why they were obsessing over that, but when I emailed the person who did the interview with me about it to tell them that I feel uncomfortable with the fact that they keep bringing it up and just wonder if there's anything more to the issue, they kicked me out that very day, claiming that my email asking about this issue was "defensive" and "raised many red flags". I would beg to differ, as my email literally ends with "Sorry for the long email -- I just wanted to explain everything so it doesn't seem like I'm being rude or anything" All I'm saying, I can't imagine they treat volunteers better than they treat families, children, youth. I am horrified for the future. This is absolutely horrific, judgemental, disgusting behavior. By the way, the reason I was "behaving strangely" -- I'm neurodivergent. But of course, they don't care about that. Just remember, they view disability as drunkenness. Shameful. Shameful.

This review is for Jessica Huey. Jessica was the attorney assigned to my daughter as minors…read morecounsel. To say I could not stand her presence in the case is an understatement. From day 1, I gave this woman no chance. I had already made up my mind that she was there to ensure my daughter was taken permanently from me. I argued with her, found fault in everything & anything she did, and I went as far as contacting airport security on her and making a bar complaint. Despite all this , she never wavered in her commitment to my daughter. She was there for her beyond any minors counsel that I've ever seen in Delinquency & dependency courts. She went above and beyond and it was not until after the case ended that I realized just how devoted she was. Keep in mind this woman was receiving payment at a reduced rate of $100 hourly, by the court as neither the dad or I could afford her typical fee which is at least 4x that amount! She's responsive , organized, and most importantly , Judges and other attorneys highly respect her. We went through 3 Judges during the course of the case and all of them clearly took her input at high consideration. From the 16 months in our case , I saw her skills. She knows family court well. Her rapport with the other attorneys brings advantage in getting cases negotiated or settled. Overall, if you are needing a family court attorney and your case is in family court , she is in the top 10% in this county, so you can't go wrong. And she is ethical. She has boundaries in place within reason but will not over-bill- even at her reduced rate I checked the billing summary and she was meticulous in her billing and fair . She's just a good person and that is coming from someone who gave her every reason to not be good to me, but she didn't retaliate or act unkind. That spoke to her character.

Going through a divorce with significant financial considerations, finding the right legal…read morerepresentation was extremely important to me. From the beginning, Audrey made a difficult and quite stressful situation feel more manageable. She represented me in a way that made me feel heard, respected, and supported throughout the entire process. Audrey took the time to listen to what mattered to me and helped me navigate decisions thoughtfully and calmly. She explained things clearly, kept me grounded when things felt overwhelming, and never made me feel rushed or dismissed. She was also extremely mindful of overall costs and gave me clear advice on paths that were more cost-efficient for me. Having someone who was both knowledgeable and genuinely attentive made a real difference. What I appreciated most was her balance of professionalism and empathy. She was responsive, detail-oriented, and steady, which gave me confidence and peace of mind during a very stressful time. I'm truly grateful for her guidance and would highly recommend Audrey and Huey & Gamble Family Law to anyone looking for experienced and trustworthy representation during a divorce.

I am an established resource parent in Alameda County, I originally went through the county itself…read more(social services) to be certified for foster care etc and then we later adopted through the county. We now have been finalized with our daughter for 3 years and are ready to expand our family again through fost /adopt, but we decided that we wanted more input than we were allowed to have with the county. My daughters sister (who was also in foster care) ended up in a great home and that all came about through A Better Way, so we decided to look into their program and have begun our pride training classes. Since this is my 2nd time going through pride training (my last training was more than 5 years ago) initially I was not at all excited, but I have to say that I am really enjoying the classes. Being that I have been a foster parent, a concurrent planning placement parent and now an adoptive parent I am quite familiar with how things work, what the kids go through etc... and A Better Way does a really good job of balancing giving out that information (and not scaring people) along with presenting the lighter side of fost/adopt. I am very eager to finish the training and get to the next and so far so good. I would recommend a better way to anyone considering fost/adoption.

Please beware. I experienced the staff within the Another Road to Safety Program as being very…read morenegative and unprofessional. Please beware.

I had a sticky situation whereby the other party was living overseas. Through Yelp, I met Heather…read moreAllan. I had spent a week calling around various divorce lawyers. Many of them were only interested in receiving a retainer upfront, aggressive, for lack of a better word, sharks. When I spoke with Heather, she did not mention fees. Instead, Heather focused on my case. It was refreshing to find someone who genuinely cared and could think outside the box. Once I signed up, Heather and her team were able to close out my case within a month. Thank you Heather and Stella for working on my case and for your most efficient service. I would definitely recommend Allan & Martelle, LLP if you find yourself needing a divorce lawyer.

I had an excellent experience working with Eva on my case. The office promptly replied to all my…read morequestions, we worked on the details of the case, she was very clear on which portions to resolve. I had moving parts in the case where I extended the case. Even after the delays and the complexities, we were able to resolve the issues and reduce the complexities. I had a great working experience with Eva and the firm.

At the heart of every organizational decision is the welfare and safety of the youth they serve…read more Their goal is not having youth focused on day-to-day survival, it is about creating self-sufficiency, surrounded by healthy relationships and creating & achieving long-term goals.

I recently attended a free 3 hour course offered by Unity Care titled "Engaging Children and Youth…read morethrough the lens of Transcultural Engagement Model." The class was amazing and I loved the perspective provided by the Unity Care staff member as he shared both his personal and professional experiences as a person of color at home and in the workplace. I highly recommend checking out these free courses taught by Unity Care staff, especially in light of our current racial climate. Good job Unity Care!

I've submitted a few application for other dog on pathfinder, but I haven't had any luck or updated…read morewhether I'm approved or no. My hopes and dream of getting some specific dog on pet-finder melted when I heard when some dog has been adopted. Application takes about two-one min to fill it out but it waste our time of the day doing it. I'll be using Craigslist for now on to adopt my future puppy.

This is a great rescue with great people who love cats and dogs. They take great care of their…read moreanimals and make sure each one is adopted to a wonderful home. Highly recommend!!!

I had been looking online for different animal rescue shelters to adopt a puppy. I tried emailing…read moreand calling a bunch of different places around the bay area, and they either took took weeks to respond, or didn't respond at all. A lot of times, the staff who I did get ahold of was really unhelpful. Enter, CARE Pets. They responded quickly and answered all my questions and I was able to see my puppy within a week. I was glad to hear that CARE pets fosters all their pets and then brings them to the adoption events on the weekends. JoAnn, who fostered my new puppy, was extremely helpful and walked me through the whole adoption process via email, then in person. All the staff and volunteers there are really friendly and they have a lot of cute dogs to adopt! And I love how if an owner is unable to take care of their pet anymore, CARE pets asks the owners to bring the pets back and not to give the dog away or give it to the pound. That makes me feel great about all the dogs that they manage and look after. If you're looking to adopt a puppy in the South Bay area, I highly recommend CARE pets!

I cannot say enough nice things about the people involved in this organization…read more We adopted our dog from here 5 years ago. We try to bring him in to visit his former foster mom every year or two. The people who foster these dogs are truly special, they save so many lives and make sure that the animals go to the right home. Cat Glass and her mother are heroes for broken dogs. They nurse them back to health, and give them all the love and affection you could possibly give a pet. They saved our pooch's life, and I will be eternally grateful. If you want to rescue a pup, this is a great place to do it.

Adoption Connection helped us facilitate our required pre and post home study for the adoption law…read morefirm we hired in Los Angeles. It was both helpful and convenient to use Adoption Connection here in the Bay Area so that we could successfully meet, interact and take classes with them. The thing that I most appreciated about Adoption Connection were the 2 classes we took, Interracial Adoption and a Intro to Adoption. We learned more than anything we could have read in any book or blog....the classes were awesome and we had a chance to meet with families that had adopted recently. Martha L. helped us for the post adoption home study and she was a pleasure to work with, very organized and easy to talk with. It felt like she genuinely wanted to see our adopted son happy and comfortable in his new home!

We attended our first Adoption 101 class in 2020 and the official outreach program in 2021. In our…read moresearch for agencies, we were really drawn to Adoption Connection (AC) b/c of their commitment and fierce advocacy for Birth mothers. After speaking with other agencies, attorneys and consultants, we felt that they were the most transparent not only with adoptive parents, but also with offering Birth Mothers perspective, counseling, and a listening ear to make the most informed decision during the most difficult time of their lives. We were told from the outset that 3 years+ was a realistic estimate in terms of placement and though we hoped it would be earlier, we understood how delicate this journey was. We were sent quarterly updates with the number of times our brochure had been presented (over 40 by the end of our process), but we had never met a Birth Mother in person yet. It's very easy to go to dark places and play the blame game as to why it hasn't happened yet, but we decided to turn our sadness into a year of yes. Yes to the trips, yes to the dinners, and yes to adventures that came our way. We started therapy and really worked on being the best version of ourselves we could for whenever we got the call. In our research, the best advice we were given is that as adoptive parents, we have to be ok with being 4th place in terms of choices for Birth Mothers who are placing their child up for adoption: 1st is with a birth parent 2nd is with a family member 3rd is with a member of their community We were more than happy to be 4th place and it's with that mindset, we were able to wait (as difficult as it was) almost 3 years for a placement. Our Birth Mother was very confident in her decision to place her child up for adoption, but understandably had second thoughts once the child was born. Those first 30 days were so stressful and AC really stepped up and not only offered comfort, perspective, and options for the Birth Mother, but also coached us through the difficult time of having the child with us and the possibility of things not working out. It was very important to all of us that our Birth Mother felt secure and safe in whatever decision she made and in the end, she felt that we were the best option for her child. Adoption is not for the faint of heart, but if not for the expertise and advice of the team at AC, we definitely would not have been able to honestly tell our child that this decision was not made lightly and was made out of an abundance of love b/c he was so wanted by all parties. We're so thankful for the Adoption Connection Team and their continued support of Birth Mothers and Adoptive Families.