To The Leader

Naomi Chargois Edwards is YAP’s Southwest Regional Director of Behavioral Health Services. She joined YAP as a Community Living Support in 2014 and has served as Assistant Director and Program Director of Behavioral Health Services. Naomi’s primary focus was to oversee the provision of intensive specialized services to children and youth with serious emotional disturbances in Fort Bend, Gulf Coast, and Harris County. She brings to YAP a diverse background of individual and group behavioral health services as well as a vision and purpose to empower youth and inspire future leaders.

In her current role, she is focused on ensuring quality behavioral health services are provided to children and youth, influencing teams, increasing collaboration, building leaders, and improving morale.

Naomi is a native of Orange, TX. Naomi obtained her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Alabama State University and her Master’s in Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy from Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. In her spare time, she enjoys creating memories with family, engaging in community outreach, and volunteering in her local Children’s Ministry.

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) is one of the largest non-profit Youth and Family Support agencies working with high-risk youth and their families in the United States. The Youth Advocate Programs model is based upon the development of a trusting relationship between a supportive, trained adult advocate, the young person, and his family.  Our mission is to provide individuals who are, or may be subject to compulsory care with the opportunity to develop so that communities have safe, proven effective and economical alternatives to institutional placement.  Individual services are tailored to each youth and family. We place an emphasis on identifying and cultivating persons and associations within the community who can be supportive of the family in a spirit of partnership and unconditional regard. 

 The Houston program services hundreds of youth annually within the surrounding communities. Many families come from low socio-economic backgrounds, lack of transportation, or mental disorders. Our program develops an individual service plan that identifies areas we can assist the family and client in being successful within his/her own community. 

Naomi encourages any youth planning on graduating with an interest in working with at-risk youth in the Houston area, to contact her for more information on opportunities available. Please contact her at nchargois@yapinc.org or 281-627-8364.

“I’m very much interested in bringing more mental health services and youth support groups to Orange, Texas,” Naomi Chargois Edwards said.