Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc was a finalist at the 2024 European Social Services (ESS) Awards in Lisbon, Portugal in November, receiving recognition for its Community-Based Safety Initiatives services. YAP’s submission, “Addressing Violence in Cities to Restore, Heal, and Strengthen Communities” was shortlisted in the European Social Network (ESN) competition’s Excellence in Communities category.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025, YAP is a national nonprofit in 34 states and Washington, D.C. that partners with government systems to deliver community-based individual and family services as an alternative to incarceration, group homes and other out-of-home care. YAP partner organizations apply the nonprofit’s YAPWRAP™ individual and family wraparound services model in Ireland, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Australia. In the U.S., YAP has combined principles of the model with public health violence intervention and prevention approaches to help cities curb neighborhood violence.
The winning entry in the Excellence in Communities category was Confederation of Rural Development Centres in Spain for its “BIO-CARES: Community-Delivered, Person-Centred Care in Rural Areas” program. The program is transforming care in rural Spain by supporting older people with disabilities and those at risk for isolation and other vulnerable communities.
“It was an amazing experience to be among so many transformative organizations being recognized for their work,” said YAP Vice President of Community-Based Safety Initiatives,” who along with YAP Chief of Marketing and Communications Kelly Williams, took part in the awards event and program. “We were finalists among over 100 organizations and programs in Europe. Having our community-based safety initiatives recognized internationally is a win for the field of work and YAP,” he added.
YAP’s community-based safety initiatives address public safety, specifically community gun violence in cities across the U.S. YAP Advocates-Credible Messengers, who are trusted community members, mediate conflicts, prevent retaliation, and offer individualized services like housing, health, and employment support.
The ESS Awards opportunity was coordinated by YAP Director of International Development Diana Matteson as part of her effort to raise awareness of the nonprofit’s work and to scale its model globally.
Serving as a panelist with other awards finalists, Fogg described how YAP’s community safety initiatives work adheres to principles of the national nonprofit’s 49-year-old YAPWRAP™ community-based alternative-to-youth-incarceration and residential care model. Williams was among the event exhibitors, sharing how through public partnerships with philanthropic support, YAP’s services reduce the risk of neighborhood violence in cities across the U.S. by connecting individuals at the highest risk and their families with economic, educational, and emotional tools to help them put their lives on a positive course.
“A big thank you to Diana for securing the opportunity for us to present in Belgium, resulting in the nomination for the Excellence in Communities Award in Portugal,” Fogg said. “Thank you to Kelly for hosting our table at the awards and for her networking. We had no left-over YAP marketing materials, and the annual report was a big hit.”
As ESS Awards program delegates, Fogg and Williams participated in study visits to social projects in Lisbon. The two attended Universo D – Os Direitos na Criança e no Jovem, an Education Programme for Human Rights and Values, which, through a participatory methodology and non-formal education, invites experiential and voluntary learning about the rights of children and young people on the way to global citizenship. Additionally, Williams visited Gabinete de Finanças Saudáveis, a support service for families, especially the most disadvantaged and unprotected, in their day-to-day financial management.
“Fred was amazing as a panelist, and. I enjoyed representing YAP at the event, learning about other social services first-hand,” Williams said.
