Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Smith.
Hi Rebecca, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Rebecca Smith embarked on a journey in 2008, driven by her dedication to providing mental health services to foster youth in congregate homes. What began as a solo endeavor expanded in October 2011 into a group practice, addressing the increasing need for therapeutic services in the community. This expansion was a significant step, especially since they were not a 501c3 organization at the time, and the financial responsibilities rested solely on Rebecca’s shoulders.
Her appointment to the Montgomery County Child Welfare Board in September 2019 marked another crucial milestone. It broadened her perspective on their mission, making her realize the need for further action. Her research into the needs of foster youth uncovered a disturbing reality: the child welfare system was in crisis, a situation worsened by an ongoing federal lawsuit since 2011.
Rebecca identified that the most pressing issue was the lack of mental health care in foster systems. This led to the founding of the nonprofit Love Heals You in July 2020, aiming not just to fill a gap but to bridge a significant chasm in the support system for vulnerable youth.
At Love Heals You, the mission is to provide a sanctuary for healing, prioritizing mental health for foster youth. They are committed to nurturing their mental well-being, offering support, care, and guidance.
The focus of Love Heals You remains on improving the lives of foster children, one child at a time, and with continued support, they strive to make a significant impact in this crisis. They believe in the power of healing, uplifting, and transforming lives together.
A key feature of their service is its accessibility, offering free counseling to these children without billing Medicaid, group homes, or families, removing financial barriers.
In a country facing escalating mental health issues, Love Heals Youth stands as a solution to address these challenges effectively within the community. Up to 80 percent of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared to about 18-22 percent of the general population. This leads to a higher rate of psychotropic medication prescriptions for foster youth, incurring substantial costs for the state and taxpayers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, through its Healthy Foster Care America Initiative, has highlighted mental and behavioral health as the “Greatest Unmet Need for Foster Youth,” a statement that cannot be ignored.
Love Heals Youth was founded to address the mental and behavioral health challenges foster youth face, including complex trauma, changing living situations, broken family relationships, inconsistent access to mental health services, and over-prescription of medications.
Their goal is to provide consistent care and support, helping these children navigate their challenging circumstances, in line with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Love Heals Youth is dedicated to nurturing foster youth’s growth to their fullest potential.
Their intervention approach is built on five pillars of healing, essential in fostering client well-being and development. These pillars have led to remarkable transformations, showing about a 40-50% reduction in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger within just three months of treatment.
Our pillars are—
Physiological
Belonging
Academics
Love and
Mental Health
First, we address the physiological needs, as we ensure the youth are clothed and maintain basic hygiene. Through initiatives like our Mobile Clothes Closet and Welcome Home Bags, we provide essential items and the dignity of ownership. Our back-to-school events and personalized care packs replace the indignity of trash bags with respect and recognition.
Second, we consider the sense of Belonging and this is fostered through our Day of Counseling and partnerships with faith-based communities, ensuring that every child has a place of acceptance, even when they struggle and a chance to be with peers that have similar backgrounds.
Third, we assess academic performance and we provide support with the foster youths’ educational pursuits because we understand that knowledge is the key to unlocking potential.
Fourth, and at the heart of our work is Love, embodied in our Bear Hugs missions. This is not merely a sentiment but the foundation of all we do, reflecting the steadfast support one finds within a family.
And finally, Mental Health, the cornerstone of Love Heals Youth. We provide countless hours of individual, group, and family counseling, reaching out to group homes and shelters, ensuring no one is beyond the reach of help.
Love Heals Youth operates as a volunteer-driven organization, functioning without administrative staff. The CEO, Rebecca, also contributes her time and efforts as a volunteer, guiding the organization in its mission to serve the community.
Love Heals Youth strives not just to speak of change but to enact it.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share about Love Heals Youth. Your efforts in raising awareness are invaluable, as they contribute to our ongoing growth and enable us to empower the clients we serve. This support provides them with a much-needed chance to embark on their journey of healing. Your backing serves as a guiding light of hope, and each time you share about Love Heals Youth with someone, you illuminate the path to recovery for these vulnerable children.
For more information about our mission or to join a movement that recognizes these children for their potential rather than their past, please visit our website at www.lovehealsyouth.com. You can also follow our journey and support our cause on Facebook and Instagram.
As we say at Love Heals Youth, inspired by the words of Ezra, “Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Love Heals Youth is a strong organization that is not only transforming lives but rewriting the future for foster youth—America’s most overlooked and at-risk population.
Research is clear: the only intervention proven to change a child’s long-term outcomes is one rooted in healthy, consistent relationships. Yet the foster care system, by design, disrupts relationships again and again, leaving young people disconnected, unseen, and unprepared for adulthood. Love Heals Youth stands in that gap.
Our approach is simple but profound: healing happens through love, and love is built through relationships. This philosophy drives every program we offer.
The urgency of our work cannot be overstated:
80% of inmates in the United States had some involvement in the child welfare system.
91% of gang members report the same.
Youth aging out of foster care face staggering outcomes—homelessness, trafficking, addiction, and incarceration.
This is known as the foster-to-prison pipeline, and Love Heals Youth is on the front lines fighting to break it.
Foster youth typically move between 3–10 times per year, bouncing from placement to placement—never forming the long-term relationships necessary for healing. Love Heals Youth changes that. Another aspect that makes Love Heals Youth so unique is because we are not affiliated with just one agency or program, we can follow each young person no matter where they move, giving them something they have never had before: consistency. We stay. We show up. We don’t give up.
Our counseling program is trauma-informed, consistent, and measurable. Every child receives a battery of assessments every 90 days, and the results speak for themselves:
✅ 40-50% reduction in depression, anxiety, anger
—all within the first three months of joining the program.
But Love Heals Youth goes beyond therapy. We understand that healing begins with safety and dignity, so we address basic needs through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Through mobile clothes closets and Welcome Home Bags, youth receive essentials they often go without—clean clothes, hygiene, essentials, comfort items, and the simple reminder that they matter. We remove all logistical barriers by bringing services directly to the youth.
Unlike most organizations, Love Heals Youth does not abandon youth when they age out of foster care. We walk with them into adulthood—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and practically.
Today, Love Heals Youth serves 30 partner organizations—foster youth in group homes/orphanages, aged-out youth, the homeless, and individuals who need counseling but cannot afford it through our scholarship program. Everything we do is rooted in truth, love, and relationship.
Our most powerful initiative is the Love Heals Leadership Series, a monthly gathering that brings dozens of foster teens together from multiple group homes/orphanages for a full day of mentorship, team building, life skills, and real human connection. These events create positive memories—the very thing trauma robbed from them—and we are changing lives.
What makes this even more extraordinary is that Love Heals Youth is 100% volunteer run. The CEO takes no salary. Every dollar goes directly to the mission.
Our current need is urgent.
To expand impact, we must secure a permanent home—a counseling and leadership center where youth can gather weekly instead of monthly and our other programs can be offered daily. The demand is overwhelming: nine additional group homes are already waiting to enroll, but Love Heals Youth simply does not yet have the financial resources to reach them.
When a foster youth joins this family, they no longer believe the lie that they are “no one from nowhere.” They discover they are seen, loved, known by name, and created for a purpose.
This is not charity—it is transformation.
Your investment will not only change lives today—it will change generations.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Rebecca Smith-Nash is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor with a profound dedication to mental health and community service. Rebecca facilitates workshops and training programs on various topics related to high conflict divorce, custody modification, and the child welfare system. Rebecca graduated with Honors from Southwest Texas State University for her Bachelor’s, and with Honors from Sam Houston State University with a Masters of Arts in Counseling.
Rebecca began her private practice in 2006 and founded the Counseling Center of Montgomery County. She has a team of 25 counselors that she employs and they serve a wide variety of clients, including high conflict divorce and custody cases, the practice is also the contracted provider for DWI and Drug Courts
Rebecca is also the founder of the 501c3 nonprofit, Love Heals Youth, providing mental health services at no cost to foster youth that reside in congregate care facilities and adults that have aged out of the system and live in homeless shelters. This organization is run by volunteers and as the CEO, Rebecca volunteers her time to lead the team as they serve over 30 nonprofits around the area.
Rebecca has developed a comprehensive internship program for aspiring counselors to complete their practicum hours for their Master’s degree program and to fulfill their 3,000 hour post-graduate clinical requirements for full licensure. Rebecca has helped train over 250 counselors.
Rebecca serves on 10 different boards and became the regional delegate for her area with the state in child welfare.
Outside of mental health, Rebecca is part of the Conroe Noon Lions Club.
Rebecca has worked with approximately 1,600 families and individuals and over 10,000 clients have been served by her team. Rebecca has devoted her professional career to serving her community and ensuring that everyone she knows feels loved.
Rebecca is married to her best friend, Jerry Nash and she has 2 sons Shane (10 years old) and Stephen (8 years old).
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
More about how what we are doing to give Love Heals Youth the ability to continue to grow:
Bomber Energy wasn’t born in a boardroom—it was born from a mission. When Joe Haliti, Jerry Nash, Rebecca Smith-Nash, and Imelda Vigil crossed paths, they shared more than business experience and entrepreneurial drive—they shared a calling to serve others.
Each brought a piece of the vision:
• Joe Haliti, a passionate community builder and entrepreneur, believed business should always serve a bigger purpose.
• Jerry Nash, a leader fueled by integrity and action, saw an opportunity to build a brand that gives back.
• Rebecca Smith-Nash, founder of Love Heals Youth, had a heart for youth in foster care and dreamed of sustainable funding to expand mental health services.
• Imelda Vigil, driven by patriotism and gratitude for sacrifice, was determined to honor first responders, veterans, and our active military with more than words—she wanted action.
Together, they created Bomber Energy Drink—a company where every purchase fuels a mission.
Unlike other energy drinks built only for profit, Bomber Energy was designed with purpose from day one. A portion of every can sold helps fund trauma-informed counseling and life-skills programs for foster youth through Love Heals Youth, a nonprofit changing lives across Texas and beyond. Bomber Energy also provides support to first responders, military service members, and veterans—the brave men and women who protect our communities and our freedom.
Bomber is more than energy—it’s impact.
More than caffeine—it’s community.
More than a drink—it’s a movement.
When you crack open a can of Bomber, you’re choosing to get energized for a cause—powered by purpose, passion, and people helping people.
This is energy with a mission. This is Bomber Energy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovehealsyouth.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/lovehealsyouth
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveHealsYouth
