The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits (OKCNP) will host the 2021 Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence (ONE) Awards on April 24, 2021, in Tulsa, with limited attendance. The event will be livestreamed on OKCNP’s website as well. Leading up to the event, OKCNP is celebrating the 21 Oklahoma nonprofit finalists in seven categories. Western Plains Youth & Family Services (WPYFS) is a finalist in the Youth category.

“It is an honor for WPYFS to be named a finalist for this prestigious award,” said Kevin Evans, executive director, WPYFS. “The recognition that comes with being a finalist is a credit to our staff, board for directors, and the children and families that we serve. The stipend that comes with being a finalist will allow our agency to strengthen the services that we provide. We thank OKCNP for creating this award.”

Founded in 1978, WPYFS mission is “to provide quality community based education, preventative counseling, shelter and health home services to individuals in need, designed to enrich the lives of children, youth and families.”

Their service area includes, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Texas and Woodward counties with more than 30 towns and settles, and 23 school systems. The impact of WPYFS reaches beyond northwest Oklahoma to include the entire state, as the Emergency Youth Shelter and Northwest Oklahoma Juvenile Detention Center receives youth from all corners of Oklahoma.

WPYFS provides a mental health services to children from birth to 17-years-old. Services include a 24/7 mobile crisis unit, rehabilitation, counseling, crisis intervention, community education and development.

In addition, the organization has an 8-bed juvenile detention center, whose premise is to not use detention as a form of punishment, but as a stepping stone to a productive life.

WPYFS and the work it does is greatly needed in northwest Oklahoma as it serves as the only mental health services provider in the region. WPYFS reports its service community has more than 62,000 people. Limited staff means there is one provider for every 5,427 people in Beaver County and one provider to every 299 people in Woodard County.

To learn more about Western Plains Youth & Family Services, Inc. visit their website: https://wpyfs.org/.

The ONE Awards is dedicated to honoring the outstanding work of Oklahoma nonprofits statewide. The ONE Awards also serves as the primary fundraising event for OKCNP. Proceeds from the ONE Awards enable OKCNP to serve communities throughout Oklahoma.

To learn more about the OKCNP ONE Awards or to watch the event, visit: https://www.okcnp.org/page/one-awards.