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best that are available,” she
says.
“When I was with a private prac-
tice, I could maybe impact 25 or
30 children and their families at
any given time,” she adds. “At
Western Youth Services, we get
to positively impact and change
the lives of thousands of chil-
dren.”
The origins of WYS date back
to 1972, when a group of car-
ing parents, teachers and po-
lice officers came together in
Fullerton to open what they
called the Teenage Resource
Centre. They believed that local
youth struggling with behavior-
al or emotional issues deserved
more compassion, addition-
al access to treatment, and a
greater number of resources
devoted just to them. To meet
those growing needs, the or-
ganization changed their name
and expanded alongside their
community.
That expansion has steadily
continued over the years. Since
Lorry was appointed CEO, es-
pecially, the organization has
grown by leaps and bounds.
When Lorry took the role in
2001, WYS was a $5.1 million or-
ganization – a number that has
since more than tripled. Back
then, they served roughly 1,000
children – they now serve more
than 17,000. Through expan-
sion of programs, Lorry man-
aged the organization’s growth
in terms of structure and stand-
ing – WYS is now the largest
county contract agency for chil-
dren’s mental health services
in all of Orange County, with a
stellar reputation.
Most importantly, however,
Lorry oversaw an evolution in
the organization’s approach to
mental health services.
In the past, Lorry says WYS was
primarily “a provider at the
time of crisis” – meaning that
their clients would be referred
to them when they were diag-
nosed with a disorder, at which
point WYS would provide a
mental health practitioner who
would then conduct traditional
MAY 2019