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We Remember

City of San Pablo
Home Page

Youth & Educational Services (Y.E.S.) Unit

The Y.E.S. Unit teaches classes to all children in San Pablo schools in grades third through eighth.  Topics include the proper use of 911, ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’, bullying, drug and gang prevention, strong self-esteem, life skills, leadership classes and advanced gang resistance for eighth graders.  This provides San Pablo children six positive years of contact and the knowledge necessary to avoid drugs and gangs in high school.

At the end of each school year, the top fifth grade students from each school are recognized at the Annual Community Awards Dinner.  A parent and educator of the year are also recognized.  The final event of the year is the Community Olympics Program for all sixth graders.  This event brings our communities children, parents and businesses together for a fun day of physical and educational competitions.  The purpose of this event is to bring our community closer, create stronger police/community understanding, recognize the positive efforts of local citizens, and make San Pablo a safer place to live.

In addition to these services, the Y.E.S. unit offers a variety of services including Neighborhood Watch, Business Crime Prevention, Parenting Project, Kids to Camp (youth camping program) and disaster preparedness training.  This unit also facilitates several community events throughout the year.

HISTORY

In 1992, a 19-year-old gang member was killed on the streets of San Pablo. Out of the anguish from the inability to respond to cries for help from the deceased victim’s mother, the Police In Schools to Offer Life (PISTOL) Program was initiated by Officer Humberto Alvarez. Born in Mexico and raised locally, Alvarez started the program part-time after his regular duty hours in hopes of preventing future tragedies.

By August 1997, he was assigned full-time to the position of Community/School Resource Officer. His primary responsibility was working within the schools as a means of intervention and prevention on issues relating to firearms, drugs and gangs. This was done through a series of classes taught at each school. Funding in the early years was entirely from community donations raised at the Salty Beef BBQ that was hosted each year by former San Pablo City Councilmember Sharon Brown.

In early 2010, the San Pablo City Council expanded the PISTOL Program and included funding to go from one officer to a team of five people.  The name was changed from the PISTOL Program to the Y.E.S. Unit.  The Unit includes School Resource Officers Kelli Richer and Katie Casalnuovo, Community Liason Officer Sandi White, PST Andrea Barte and Administrative Clerk Diane Thompson. They are supervised by Sergeant Alvarez.  Collectively, this unit has over 44 years of police experience and over 18 years of experience teaching drug/gang prevention exclusively to San Pablo school children. 

For more information, please contact:

Sergeant Humberto Alvarez

(510) 215-3273 - se habla espanol

School Resource Officer (SRO) Kathryn Casalnuovo

(510) 215-3212 - se habla espanol

School Resource Officer (SRO) Kelli Richer

(510) 215-3280

Community Liaison Officer (CLO) Sandi White

(510) 215-3157 - se habla espanol