Charlotte, NC – Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP®), Inc. Alternatives to Violence (ATV) West Boulevard team transformed a little used west Charlotte apartment complex community center to meet the practical needs of its residents.
The overhauled Little Rock Apartments’ community resource center provides residents with a community closet, bike rentals and a reading corner where children and parents can gather, study, use a computer, meet with the team, check out books and even take the GED exam.
“This gives us an opportunity to promote pre-intervention,” said YAP ATV West Boulevard Site Supervisor Anthony Davis who grew up in Little Rock Apartments. “If we can get to the kids before violence actually happens, it makes a difference. Our community closet and all of our activities that we encompass are part of the intervention process.”
YAP ATV is a partnership with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County using Cure Violence methods and is supported by the generosity of the GreenLight Fund. Charlotte’s first ATV partner, YAP now serves two of the city’s three sites, the Beatties Ford Road Corridor and West Boulevard. YAP ATV provides intensive services for young people ages 14 to 25 who have been identified by schools, community groups, the youth justice system and other referring partners, as being at the highest risk of being engaged in violence. Risk factors include group violence involvement or affiliation, being recently released from prison, or experiencing the loss of a loved one due to gun violence.
Celebrating its 50th year in 2025, YAP® is a national nonprofit that partners with public systems in 33 states and Washington, D.C., to provide community-based individual and family wraparound services as an alternative to placing youth in trouble or crisis in correctional or residential care facilities. In addition to providing alternative-to-youth incarceration services in Mecklenburg County, YAP combines its evidence-based wraparound services with the Cure Violence intervention approach in its ATV work. The YAP ATV teams detect and interrupt violence, identify those at high-risk for engaging in violence, and mobilize community change. YAP ATV employees are hired from the communities they serve and often share similar backgrounds.
When the YAP ATV West Boulevard team is not out canvassing in their catchment area; they can be found at the Little Rock Apartments’ Community Resource Center at 5712 Leake St. The Community Closet opened in March and allows residents to receive men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, toys, household items, and canned foods among other basic needs items at no cost from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. every other Friday. Donations are provided through churches, other local organizations and from individuals.
“This was a community center when I lived here,” said YAP ATV Program Manager Donnell Gardner. “We started meeting a lot of people and they were telling us about the things they needed, so we wanted to bring this to the community. We’re from here, so we know a lot of their needs.”
YAP ATV West Boulevard Outreach Worker Yulonda Johnson keeps track of who’s receiving items and limits clothing to two items per person. The Community Closet is open to YAP ATV program participants from both the nonprofit’s West Boulevard and Beatties Ford Road sites.
“This helps boost the morale of the residents,” Johnson said. “We built this store up. Initially we only had enough items to fill the tables, but now we have a little corner boutique.”
If a resident has an emergency need, such as diapers for their baby, Johnson said the team will make exceptions to get individuals what they need.
“We’re dealing with high-risk individuals but the Community Closet is an extension of the program,” Gardner said. “This was important for us to turn this into something.”
Additionally, every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m., children can rent out bikes to ride around the neighborhood for two hours. YAP ATV West Boulevard Violence Interrupter Shawn Moore came up with the idea to provide the service.
“We allocate time and bikes for kids who don’t have a bike,” Gardner said. “The kids get the bike for a couple of hours and then bring it back. We work on an honor system. We wanted to add this resource.”
Moore works on the donated bikes, and adjusts the seats for the children or fixes them up if required.
“The bike program is amazing,” Johnson said. “If the kids even think we’re in here, they will come to the door looking for us.”
On Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m., children and young adults can check out books, get help with reading, or use the computers to complete or study for their high school General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or certificate and apply for jobs.
“Residents can choose a book and take it with them to read,” Johnson said. “Sometimes program participants read books to the kids or a team member will read to a child.”
Johnson said children are rewarded if they read five or more books at the end of the month, which gets them excited about literacy.
“We keep data of what they’re reading in order to access their progress,” she added. “We even have young adults who have trouble reading and we’re here to support them and not embarrass them. We will read with them individually if they let us know they need help.”
Although the target age range for ATV program participants is adolescents to young adults, Johnson said all of initiatives at the Community Resource Center are part of pipeline to prevention.
“The YAP ATV team is here to help identify barriers and remove them,” Johnson added. “That’s what we’re all about, helping to reduce violence by keeping young people engaged in other activities.”
In addition to Gardner and Davis, Moore, and YAP ATV Beatties Ford Road Site Supervisor Roosevelt Brooks, also grew up in Little Rock Apartments.
“Now we’re able to come back and we understand the wisdom that was given to us before when we used to come to the Community Resource Center,” Gardner added. “We’re able to reach back and it’s a beautiful thing. Inside there’s a happiness that words really can’t put in perspective.”
To donate books, bikes, clothing or other items to the Community Resource Center, email Gardner at dgardner@yapinc.org or Davis at andavis@yapinc.org. For more information on YAP visit yapinc.org.
