Project Eden was founded in the late 1960s by a Castro Valley pediatrician and a Hayward Unified School District administrator who were responding to the escalating drug challenges of the community’s youth.
Since then, Project Eden has provided a wide variety of substance high-risk use prevention, education, intervention and treatment services to children, adolescents, adults, families and communities in the Hayward, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Union City, Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, and San Lorenzo areas.
Our programs have identified an increasing need for services for youth who are already engaging in high-risk use of alcohol, marijuana, fentanyl, or other drugs, or who are exhibiting behavior which puts them at extremely high risk for engaging in high-risk use of alcohol or other drugs.
Such at-risk behavior might include living in a family where a parent or other family member is or has been engaging in high-risk use of alcohol or other drugs; having a conflictual relationship with parents; getting bad grades at school; having conduct challenges at home and school; getting in trouble with the juvenile justice system; struggling with sexual identity issues; or suffering from emotional challenges such as depression and anxiety.
Understanding the risks associated with alcohol and drug use is crucial. Every choice a young person makes has consequences, and it’s important to weigh those carefully. Our programs recognize potential dangers and offer steps to help make informed decisions — and how to make healthy and safe choices regarding alcohol and drugs when high-risk usage is a factor. Our programs also advocate for building a strong support system, setting boundaries, finding healthy alternatives, and building protective behaviors that help to mitigate high-risk usage.
At Project Eden, we run several programs to assist youth, their families, and our local communities to address challenges with substance use among young people in Alameda County.
Text 510-256-9420 and someone will text you back between Monday and Friday, 9am to 5pm. If this is an emergency, call 911. If you are feeling suicidal and want to harm yourself, call 988.
The Youth Outpatient Program addresses the physical, emotional, psychological, social, and educational needs of adolescents and young adults. Staff provide a supportive environment from a foundation of compassionate care, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) expertise, and unconditional welcome.
*SUD: Characterized by the recurrent use of drugs or alcohol despite the negative consequences it causes to a person’s health, social life, work, and other areas of life. SUDs are a chronic, relapsing brain disease that can affect a person’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions.
Youth Outpatient Program staff will meet with a youth and his/her family to assess the nature and degree of the challenge. This process will involve meeting with the youth individually, with the parent(s), and with the whole family together. A treatment plan will be developed that meets the unique needs of each family.
Individual sessions with the adolescent will provide a safe, confidential place for the youth to establish a trusting relationship with an adult where he/she can:
Family Counseling sessions with the whole family will focus on:
Group counseling services are designed to bring clients together to process challenges, gain peer support, explore healthy living alternatives, and build life skills. These sessions provide a safe space for individuals to share their experiences, learn from others, and develop a supportive community. Positive peer group support is critical to the success of anyone making significant changes in their life. Through group counseling, clients can establish new, healthy relationships and reinforce their commitment to leading a drug-free and productive life.
Group sessions for parents or legal guardians that address issues of youth recovery, family relationships, anger management, conflict resolution, effective parenting and co-dependency may be offered as the need arises.
This program provides high-risk substance use education & supportive services to the New Haven, Pleasanton, Hayward, Dublin, Livermore Joint Valley, Berryessa Union, Santa Clara, Milpitas, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo school districts. Students are referred by faculty, staff, families, or themselves for Substance Use Disorder prevention, education, and support for myriad issues including high-risk substance use, decision-making, a lack of refusal skills, anxiety, depression, anger management, and parental conflict. Available services include Substance Use Disorder prevention and education sessions, classroom presentations, parent workshops, faculty professional development, community cultural events, and tabling at school sites as well as in the community. Our Prevention Specialists can provide crisis intervention, information and referral, and consultation with school staff and community members. Youth Services Program uses evidence-based curriculums such as Botvin’s Life Skills, Be Brave Be Sensitive suicide prevention, Project SUCCESS, Brief Intervention, Safety First Training, and Prime Solutions.
Tennyson High School
Hayward High School
Mt Eden High School
Emerald High School
Dublin High School
Fallon Middle School
Wells Middle School
Conley Caraballo High School
Arroyo High School
East Bay Arts
KIPP King High School
Village High School
Sierra Mont Middle School
Piedmont Middle School
Morrill Middle School
MacDonald High School
Santa Clara High School
Wilcox High School
Milpitas High School
Calaveras High School
Youth Services Program, Lambda Youth Project, and the Lambda Drop-In Center services are free to all participants. Youth Outpatient Program services are offered on a sliding fee scale. There is an initial $40 charge for the alcohol and other drug assessment. We also accept Medi-Cal insurance.
No one is refused services due to inability to pay.
This program provides services to young people who identify as LGBTQIA+. We know that these youth are at a significantly higher risk of alcohol and other drug use, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Since 1992, LAMBDA has provided a safe, supportive environment for these youth and their friends to meet and discuss the issues that they deal with in their day- to-day lives. Clean and sober activities such as the Annual Pride Prom and participation in Castro Valley, Dublin, Hayward, Oakland, and San Francisco Pride events are part of Project Eden’s Lambda Youth Project, which organizes some of these events and sponsors others.
We can connect you to mental health support, links to health care, high-risk substance use and prevention services, and more. Our team can even help you find employment, reconnect with your school, and provide you with access to our computer for resumé writing and job hunting.
The staff includes Youth Peer Specialists, Youth Interns, a Case Manager, and a Mental Health Specialist.
We also offer a variety of Youth Engagement Programming, developed by youth themselves! These programs provide a space for you to connect with like-minded peers, explore your creativity, find a sense of self, and even engage in leadership and advocacy positions both within and outside of the Center!
The center boasts a wide range of programming, designed to: Promote healthy and supportive relationships, encourage imaginative and innovative thinking, and learn skills and tools essential to achieving personal goals and thriving within a community. Whether that’s joining an art activity, participating in interactive games, or engaging in any number of other youth-led recreational activities, you’ll find a chance to let your true self shine.
Confidentiality in Care – protecting confidentiality is vital to young people’s health and well-being and plays a key role in health throughout their lives.
© 2024, Horizon Services Inc. – All Rights Reserved.