YAP, Inc.The Neighborhood Advocate

Harris County, Texas – Through equine therapy offered from Harris County’s Youth Advocate Program (YAP), Inc., Mackenzie has learned self-control, empathy, and patience.

“Being enrolled in equine therapy has helped with several of the issues from which I suffer,” Mackenzie said. “Patience has always been a struggle for me. Working with horses has helped me learn to harness some self-control and use patience as a way of handling situations with others.”

Mackenzie is one of the numerous former YAP program participants and family members or guardians receiving a scholarship from the 2022 Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education. Through the Endowment Fund scholarship, Mackenzie recently received a laptop to help during her first year at Galveston College where she is enrolled in the Culinary Arts program. Her classes include culinary math, regional and international cuisines, baking fundamentals, and restaurant Spanish. Her goal is to become a pastry chef.

“This Endowment Scholarship helped me to receive a laptop to use while I am at college,” Mackenzie said. “It will aid in furthering my education because several of my culinary textbooks are located online.”

Mackenzie connected with YAP through the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver Program, which helps young people who face mental, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The program is part of YAP’s mental health services offered to young people at home, school, or in community settings. Mackenzie said the program helped him with his anxiety and social skills issues including struggles with connecting with others and easily panicking in otherwise ordinary situations.

YAP is a national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide trauma-informed community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, residential treatment, and neighborhood violence.

Equine therapy provides psychotherapy with a behavioral health specialist alongside horses by doing activities such as feeding, grooming and other things with the animals.

“Working with horses through equine therapy has helped me tremendously with this,” Mackenzie added. “To gain a horse’s trust, they need to be shown respect. You must be kind and show them that you are there to nurture and help them. Also, horses will not give respect to you unless it is first given to them. They will not work with you in riding, walking, or any other simple command or activity.”

YAP started the scholarship fund in 2004 and it is made possible by weekly contributions from generous YAP employees. The fund was renamed the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education in honor of YAP’s founder Tom Jeffers after his death. The scholarship is awarded in the amount of $1,000 toward school and job training costs or can come in the form of a laptop computer. Recipients can reapply annually.

Mackenzie is thankful to YAP for helping him continue his education. After a year at Galveston College, she plans to transfer to Houston Community College to begin working toward her pastry arts and baking diplomas.

“One day, I hope to have my own business and compete in different baking competitions,” Mackenzie said. “Being awarded this scholarship is a blessing, to me and my family in helping me achieve my dream of becoming a pastry chef.”

To learn more about YAP visit www.yapinc.org or follow us on Twitter at @YAPInc.

Las Vegas, Nevada – A group of Clark County, Nevada young people working to turn their lives around got an unexpected reward. They’re participants in Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc.’s community-based youth justice program. YAP staff hosted a prom for the young people — a traditional high school milestone they would have otherwise missed.

YAP is a 47-year-old national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide trauma-informed community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate care, and neighborhood violence.

YAP provides young people frontline staff Advocates who empower them with tools to meet their educational, economic, or emotional needs and achieve positive goals. Some of the youths referred to YAP have experienced poverty, gang violence, human trafficking, or early parenting.

“The thought around our prom was how justice-impacted youth miss out on many of the special moments implicitly promised to them during their school-age years because of how the justice system is designed,” said YAP Regional Director Nyeri Richards. “Alternative education and schools inside detention facilities do not offer the same opportunities to justice-impacted youth that traditional school does.”

Richards said the Las Vegas YAP staff worked hard to offer program participants a nice event where they could dress up and enjoy themselves in an elegant setting.

“What we did at YAP was bring the broken promises to our office and mend them by celebrating each young person who is dedicated to improving their lives,” she added.

Learn more about YAP at www.yapinc.org and follow the organization @YAPInc.

Wichita, Kansas – Eighteen-year-old Angel completed high school almost a month earlier than she was supposed to and was accepted into the college. She has dreams of becoming a pediatrician.

Angel is one of the numerous former Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. participants and their family members or guardians receiving a 2022 scholarship through the organization’s Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education. She received a laptop to continue her studies. The scholarship is awarded in the amount of $1,000 toward school and job training costs or can come in the form of a laptop computer. Recipients can reapply annually.

Though on the right path now, Angel admits that she struggled with school attendance and faced several challenges after her community mom died two years ago.

“I met my community mom when I was in the seventh grade, and she took me in as her own when my home life was abusive, toxic and unstable,” Angel said. “She saved my life. After she passed away in 2020, I was heavily suicidal. I also quit going to school and chose not to get out of bed for days at a time.”

Angel was referred to YAP in early 2022 through the nonprofit’s youth justice program, which provided her with an Advocate, Kameelah Alexander. YAP is a national nonprofit in more than 100 communities in 33 states and the District of Columbia that provides community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate out-of-home placement and treatment, and neighborhood violence.

Angel recalls her state of mind when she met Alexander, saying she was “extremely emotional,” and “angry at the world.”

“(Alexander) showed me love and compassion,” Angel said. “She pushed me to go to school and reminded me how smart I was, who I was as a person, and who I wanted to be. She helped me remember why school and life was so important to me all along. She gave me structure and guidance when I needed it because I didn’t have it at home.”

Alexander helped Angel enroll at Butler Community College, even drove her to the school so she could take her placement test, get her school ID and schedule.

“Angel has blossomed under YAP and followed through on her goal of attending college,” Alexander said. “Her passion to excel past her current state is admirable.”

Angel said Alexander taught her how to remain humble because someone always has it worse.

“Words can’t explain how much I benefited from this program, but more importantly how I benefited from an extremely honest and compassionate person that you chose to hire,” Angel said.

Angel is thankful for the laptop and says she will now be able to do her schoolwork at home without having to stress over finding a ride to the library or campus.

“This is one last thing I have to worry about before starting this new chapter of my life,” Angel added.

To learn more about YAP visit www.yapinc.org or follow us on Twitter at @YAPInc.

Charlotte, N.C. – More than 250 kids will go back to school with backpacks and school supplies from the Alternatives to Violence (ATV) team. ATV, a collaboration between the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., and Cure Violence Global, launched a year ago in response to reducing violence in Charlotte’s Beatties Ford Road corridor.

“I think it was a wonderful event for the community because there are some households that may need one or two additional items,” said Ron’Jent Davis who came with her 15 year-old daughter Avahna, a student at North Mecklenburg High School. “It’s nice to have an event in our neighborhood. I’ve seen (ATV) on Beatties Ford Road hosting other events that they have for the community, and they’re doing a lot of great things to make change in that corridor.”

The Back-to-School event was sponsored by LISC Charlotte, which generously donated $2,500 to purchase the backpacks for the community. Additionally, Fifth Third Bank donated 50 backpacks and school supplies, and Atrium Health donated 75 hand sanitizers and other materials for students.

YAP, a national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia, has a 47-year history of providing community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, out-of-home child welfare, behavioral health, and intellectual disabilities placements, and neighborhood violence. YAP administers the ATV with the Cure Violence model, which uses methods and strategies associated with disease control to detect and interrupt conflicts; identify and treat the highest risk individuals and change social norms. The ATV team also supports the community by helping to connect residents to economic, educational, and emotional tools.

Among the parents in attendance was Luis Realleggno, who expressed his appreciation of the event as he picked up backpacks and supplies for his three daughters who are entering seventh-grade, third grade and pre-kindergarten.

The ATV team includes a site supervisor and team members – frontline violence interrupters and outreach workers who are deeply rooted as volunteers, activists, and advocates in the Beatties Ford Road corridor where most of them grew up or went to high school.

To learn more about YAP visit www.yapinc.org or follow us on Twitter at @YAPInc.

Read more about YAP’s Tarrant County program here.

Testifying before the Texas House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. President Gary Ivory said neighborhood-based wraparound services could be a safe, effective alternative to incarcerating Texas youth. His testimony came as state lawmakers are considering raising the age of criminal responsibility in Texas from 17 to 18. Ivory’s recommendation followed testimony about Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities that are understaffed, compromising the mission to rehabilitate children currently in care, with no capacity to accept 18-year-olds.

Testimony for the Texas House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform Submitted by Gary ivory, President, Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. August 24, 2022 (Hear his virtual testimony at 3:47:30 here or read below)

Good morning. My name is Gary Ivory and I serve as the President of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP). I am pleased to provide testimony based on YAP’s three decades of experience providing alternatives to incarceration, neighborhood violence reduction, behavioral health and child welfare services in the State of Texas. YAP is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to developing alternatives to institutional placement (jails, secure detention, psychiatric hospitals, group homes, youth prisons, etc.) since 1975. YAP’s mission is to develop safe and cost-effective alternatives to out-of-home placement by using an array of evidence -based approaches. YAP operates programs in 34 states and Washington, D.C.

In 1992, Carey Cockerell, former Director of Tarrant County Juvenile Services, brought YAP to Tarrant County using “community corrections” funding. YAP targeted areas of Tarrant County with the highest recidivism rates and commitments to the Texas Youth Commission as it was referred to at the time. Since 1992, our programs have expanded to contract with juvenile probation departments in Dallas, Tarrant, Harris, Johnson, Jefferson, Matagorda, Calhoun and Brazoria counties. We work in each of these counties to develop alternatives to secure detention; help young people successfully complete probation; reduce recidivism and prevent commitments to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. To date, 86 % of young people successfully complete our programs.

The core of our approach is to work with young people who have the most complex needs. Typically, the youth that we serve across Texas are on probation, have some form of court-ordered supervision; are involved in the child welfare system or who have complex mental health and/or substance use challenges. We assign each young person an “Advocate” or “Paid Mentor” who spends an average of 10 hours a week with the youth and his/her family. Advocates live in the same neighborhoods and their assigned youth and carry out an individualized plan that addresses the unique needs of the assigned youth/family. We know that “cookie cutter” approaches don’t work with high-risk/high-need young people. Youth are often afforded an opportunity to have paid work experiences through our Supported Work program. Across Texas, YAP has over 50 employers who employ our youth. We also provided scholarships to many young people through our Endowment Fund. 86-90% of youth successfully complete our programs.

YAP also contracts with the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) to provide comprehensive behavioral health services for children and youth who have complex psychiatric/mental health challenges. We operate programs in Dallas, Tarrant, Travis and Harris counties. We provide services to over 1, 000 young people and their families annually. The young people that we serve would be in psychiatric hospitals and/or residential treatment centers without YAP’s intervention. This is important because a large percentage of young people in the juvenile justice system in Texas have a mental health diagnosis. Getting young people early behavioral health supports reduces recidivism and improves the overall well-being of young people.

I will share two examples of the impact that YAP has had in Texas over the past three decades:

• The Tarrant County, Texas : The former Probation Chief, Carey Cockerell, brought YAP to Tarrant County under a contract with Tarrant County Juvenile Services using what was referred to at the time as “Community Corrections” funding. During our first year of operating the program, YAP helped reduce commitments to the Texas Youth Commission at the time by 44%. Tarrant County still commits low numbers of young people to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in comparison to other large cities in Texas. This is in large part due to the strong continuum of care for juveniles in Tarrant County.
• Harris County, Texas: Another example is the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. Former Chief Elmer Bailey brought YAP’s model to Harris County in 2000. At the time, Harris County was spending over $8 million a year through Harris County general operating funds to remove youth from the home and place them in residential treatment facilities. In 2004, an evaluation was done by Dr. Ron Rhea. The study showed that 86% of the young people served did not recidivate. Additionally, the placement budget went down from $8 million a year down to less than $1 million a year.

I want to highlight two states that made the decision to shift resources from youth prisons to home and community-based interventions. Kansas shifted resources from youth prisons to community-based interventions. This effort has saved the State of Kansas $72 million. The State of Georgia instituted a similar plan starting in 2012 and projected savings of over $85 million over a 5 year period. This also avoided the significant cost of building two new secure care juvenile facilities. These states have proven that reducing populations in youth prisons and diverting young people to community- based alternatives both saves money and enhances public safety.

YAP suggests a few policy recommendations that will help to decrease recidivism, improve public safety and save taxpayer dollars:

• Recommendation 1: Pilot and fund a robust continuum of care to return youth safely home from TJJD facilities. A large number of youth can be returned safely home with intensive wraparound support. This can be done at a fraction of the cost of confining young people in TJJD and/or county facilities. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is funding states to close and reduce the size of youth prisons across the United States. Texas can redirect these dollars to home and community-based alternatives, such as YAP, that have a proven track record.
• Recommendation 2: Raise the age of majority in Texas to age 18. Most states have already taken action to raise the age of majority. We can do this without jeopardizing public safety.

In summary, we have evidence about what works to rehabilitate young people involved in the juvenile justice system in Texas. Models such as YAP that offer intensive mentoring to youth/families;  offers young people an opportunity to heal from trauma, get behavioral health support and work experience are critical to rehabilitating young people. We need models that provide 24/7 support for youth in crisis and provide a holistic, wraparound approach and building a continuum of care that provides critical  support to young people and their families. We can do this at a fraction of the cost of incarceration and achieve positive outcomes without jeopardizing public safety. Thanks you so much for your time and consideration of these important issues.

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org. Follow the nonprofit on Twitter @YAPInc.

Yavapai County, Arizona – Fresh air, water, and the open wilderness helped five young people open up and face their fears during a recent kayaking trip. The youths are participants in Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. in Yavapai County, Arizona; and the trip was part of their rehabilitative services.

YAP is a nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide transformative community-based wraparound services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. Neighborhood-based Advocates are paired with youth to provide them and their families with emotional, economic, and educational support.

As part of the experience the youths joined their YAP Advocates and Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) Wilderness Program staff for a special lunch. The entire experience was made possible by the Arizona Community Foundation.

“We love working with our youth in the outdoors,” said YAP Yavapai County Director Patty Delp. “It helps build self-confidence and resilience. I have used the outdoors my entire life for healing and adventure and I am thrilled to offer this to our youth.”

Some of our Yavapai County youth have never kayaked before, Delp said, adding that the adventure took part on a section of the Verde River that is relatively tame. In addition to Delp, YAP Advocates Cami Pollard, Monica Marquez and Eric Schulze went along for the ride, kayaking with the youths for five miles on the river located in rural Northern Arizona.

Marquez, who became an Advocate with YAP in May, works for YAN full-time as the wilderness program manager and is a YAN tribal member. She was instrumental in connecting the two organizations. Through YAN, Marquez does a lot of adventure-based activities, including rock climbing and kayaking, as a form of therapeutic support. As a YAP Advocate, she said she has been working with a fourteen-year-old who was recently removed from her home and is getting reacclimated to school. Marquez is helping her make her own Native American dress and boots and complete beadwork on it for a coming-of-age ceremony.

“It’s really important for the youth to be able to share cultural knowledge with others,” Marquez said. “It gives them insight to the area they live in and helps them respect it more.”

Though the youth didn’t want to go on the kayaking trip initially, Marquez was able to persuade the YAP participant, and she ended up having a good time.

“We were kayaking together,” Marquez said, adding, “I was teasing her when we tipped over in the kayak. It was probably the first time I heard her be vocal and she was having a good time.”

Delp said Schulze is an Advocate of a young man who is dealing with issues surrounding family trauma. The youth, who Delp describes as helpful and respectful, also went kayaking with the group.

“He’s the one that really inspired us to be able to show up and do an event like this,” Delp said, adding the participant helped with equipment assisted all while on the river, and helped others pull their boats out of the water when they finished kayaking. “I am so proud of him, and I so believe in him. He is an amazing young man.”

Schulze has been a YAP Advocate for two years and said the outdoors helps youth with recovery, and overcoming anxiety, depression as well as other things as well.

“I work with four youth,” Schulze said. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve worked with all kinds of different kids; those dealing with substance misuse, anxiety, lack of social awareness, and trauma in their backgrounds. I think is pretty universal. They come with as many backgrounds that you can think of, and I think they all need the same thing, which is community.”

Delp is thankful for Schulze, Martinez and her entire team; adding that her Advocates possess qualities that include energy, patience, kindness, compassion and calmness all of which help to build trust and relationships with young people.

“Each one of these kids is just a fantastic individual,” Schulze added. “They’re all capable of incredible things as long as they have the right support network in place.”

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org and follow the organization on Twitter @YAPInc.

Harrisburg, PA — About 100 Pennsylvania youth who have disabilities, have been justice-involved, live in rural communities, or face other employment barriers have dream jobs this summer.

In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, youth are working in the marketing department for the Minor League Baseball RailRiders. In Philadelphia, participants are at Philly Pumptrack, a free, public, volunteer-led bike park for youth and families from the region, while others are moving and shaking with Councilmember Kendra Brooks.

Some participants with disabilities are on the counseling staff at the York YMCA’s Camp Spirit and working with the City of York Parks and Recreation Bureau giving neighborhood parks a makeover. Meantime, a few young foodies are getting on-the-job training at the Gettysburg College dining hall.

The young summer employees are participants in Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)’s “My Work Initiative” and “Community Work Instruction” programs. The MY Work Initiative and Community Work Instruction programs are OVR funded summer jobs programs to connect students with disabilities en masse to jobs in their local communities.

Ryan Hyde, Acting Executive Director of OVR, stated that “The OVR My Work Initiative is a fantastic program that creates collaboration between OVR, a local municipality, and a local vendor to offer paid work-based learning experiences for students with disabilities.” He continued, “The partnership with YAP has been an exceptional example of collaboration that will impact the student participants for years to come by creating opportunities for them to gain real world work experience in a variety of professions.”

A 47-year-old Harrisburg-based national nonprofit, YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, developmental disabilities, public safety, and other systems in 33 states and the District of Columbia to provide community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate residential care, and neighborhood violence.

YAP hires and trains community-based Advocates to help program participants see their strengths while connecting them with economic, educational, and emotional tools to nurture them.

“We’ve modeled both OVR summer jobs initiatives after our YAP Supported Work program component, where we identify and recruit employers willing to provide on-the-job training for kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get paid for something they’re enthusiastic about,” said YAP National Coordinator of Developmental Disabilities Programs Lori Burrus. “Eleven YAP offices across the state are participating in these summer jobs programs, and like YAP Supported Work, wages are paid to participants through funding from our systems partner, which in this case, is OVR.”

The summer jobs program participants are young people with disabilities, have been in the youth justice system, live in rural communities, and/or are members of minority groups. OVR refers the participants to YAP, which recruits the employers and makes the matches according to the young people’s interests and abilities. YAP’s community-based staff members also work with the youth to secure work permits, Social Security Administration and other paperwork, and transportation. OVR personnel follow up with each participant biweekly and visit with them on-the-job to track their progress.

“This is a true Commonwealth- and community-wide team effort. The kids are the troopers, and the heroes are the employers who serve as worksite trainers, patiently and caringly teaching the program participants general job tasks, reinforcing skills development, and providing day-to-day supervision,” Burrus said.

Participants receive stipends equivalent to a wage of $10.35 per hour.

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org. Follow the nonprofit on Twitter @YAPInc.

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. hosted Mainstreet Peace Summit, a Community Gun Violence Prevention Resource Fair, on Saturday, July 16, at Cumberland and Carey Park in Baltimore. Such events are among the tactics used by YAP’s Youth Justice, Safe Streets, and Gun Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) teams to foster a sense of togetherness and solidarity, particularly during the summer months when violence tends to be more prevalent.

The fair provided connections to economic, educational, and emotional tools – tangible community resources that provide alternatives to violence – as well as recreational activities for youth and families and free food.

YAP is a 47-year-old national nonprofit that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, public safety, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and congregate residential placements, and neighborhood violence. YAP does this by hiring and training neighborhood-based Advocates and Credible Messengers who work with youth and families in their communities, empowering them with tools to see their strengths and connecting them with resources to help them achieve positive goals. It’s a unique evidence-based wraparound services model that has been shown to keep 87 percent of youth justice systems program participants from reoffending. That success led YAP to doing violence prevention work across the country, including as Baltimore’s Penn North/Sandtown Safe Streets provider four years ago and more recently one of the city’s new– or GVRS — nonprofit partners, responsible for West Baltimore.

YAP’s Violence Prevention programs combine the nonprofit’s evidence-based wraparound services model with evidence-based violence prevention approaches to help curb violence, particularly among individuals most likely to be engaged in violence – people returning home from prison, those who may have been involved in cliques and gangs; and those who may be looking to retaliate after losing loved ones to gun violence. YAP’s violence prevention strategy also involves strengthening neighborhoods and building a sense of support through food and clothing giveaways, youth events/transportation, connecting people to job opportunities, counseling, restorative justice resources, and other individualized supports.

Lexington, Kentucky – While living in Dallas, Emily’s mother died when she was only 13 years-old. Her grandmother, who was in town visiting on vacation at the time, took Emily back to Kentucky to live with her.

“My grandma raised me practically from when I was a little girl,” said Emily. “I have a good relationship with her.”

Back in Kentucky and around new surroundings, things weren’t going so smoothly for Emily. She wasn’t going to school, had bad grades and was unable to express herself. By age 17 she was referred to the court system for truancy. The state’s youth justice system referred her to Lexington, KY Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. At YAP she was connected with Delaney Harris and Ashley Randall.

“Delaney Harris was my Advocate,” Emily said. “She helped me a lot. I had a lot of baggage from when my mom passed away. She helped me with talks and helped me with school. She gave me the motivation to go to school and work.”

YAP is a national nonprofit in more than 100 communities in 33 states and the District of Columbia that provides community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate out-of-home placement and treatment, and neighborhood violence. Since Harris and YAP entered Emily’s life, she’s now re-enrolled in school and is a rising senior.

“Emily and I had both lost our mothers at a young age and there were multiple occasions where Emily would message me just to offer her love and support,” said Harris who oversees the nonprofit’s School Based Mentoring Program in Fayette County, Kentucky. “Emily was one of the most mature and respectful youths I have ever met. Her kindness and empowerment toward other youths were one of the many things I admired most about Emily.”

The bond they shared over losing their mothers made talking to Harris easy for Emily. She felt she had someone who understood her and she felt free to be honest. Emily said Harris took her out and spent time with her which helped provide a distraction and change of scenery from things she dealt with at home.

Emily is no longer in the program and has accepted an opportunity to become a YAP Voice Champion, where she will join other former YAP program participants to share his story with local and national youth organizations, prospective program funders, policy makers, and others working to make systems more effective and equitable for young people.

“Sharing my story is important to me,” said Emily, now 18. “I was going through so many things at that time. I was a different person than who I am now. I want my voice to be heard. I want other kids to know that things do get better.”

Emily also developed a relationship with Randall who serves as Kentucky YAP’s Program Director for the Alternatives to Detention, Prevention/Diversion, and School Based Mentoring Programs.

“Emily is an absolute gem. I have always been amazed at her maturity and ability to carry herself in a sophisticated and elegant manner,” Randall said. “One would never know all that she has been through and overcome just by looking at her because she carries herself so well and always has a smile on her face.”

Emily has since moved to Virginia and now lives with her aunt and uncle but still keeps in contact with Randall and Harris consistently.

“Though I was so lucky to have been Emily’s Advocate, she taught me more than I ever did her and I can’t wait to see what great things she does in her life and for her community,” Harris added.

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org and follow the organization on Twitter @YAPInc.

Baldwin County, Ala. – Kayla Miracle-Landicho remembers sobbing outside of a courtroom during a hearing because a Youth Advocate Program (YAP), Inc. program participant and her sister had nowhere to live and there was no availability for the siblings to remain together in a foster care home.

Miracle-Landicho was India’s YAP Advocate and had pushed to get her back in school before going on maternity leave. But when Miracle-Landicho returned to work she learned that India had not been in school, had no adequate housing and no one was helping her meet her basic needs.

The day Miracle-Landicho was crying outside the courtroom, she was on the phone with her husband. Without hesitation they agreed to take India and her younger sister Amara home to live with them. Three years later after serving as foster parents to the girls, the couple was finally able to adopt Amara in December 2021. By then, because India was 18, they were not able to adopt her, but the family says she, too, is now their daughter.

YAP is a national nonprofit in more than 100 communities in 33 states and the District of Columbia that provides community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate out-of-home placement and treatment, and neighborhood violence by partnering with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, public safety, schools, and other systems. YAP does this by hiring and training neighborhood and school-based Advocates who work with youth and families, empowering them with tools to see their strengths and connecting them with resources to help them achieve positive goals.

“At first, I wasn’t in the program, my sister India was, and I just came along,” 17-year-old Amara said. “(Kayla) has definitely helped me. I am happy she’s my guardian. I couldn’t be with anyone better.”

Miracle-Landicho has worked for YAP Baldwin County, Alabama for five years where she currently serves as the administrative manager for In-Home Services. She was India’s Advocate when she was a participant in Baldwin County YAP’s Multi-State Mentoring Program and had truancy issues with school.

“They are good girls who needed a good environment to thrive in. They just needed to be able focus on things and to not worry about where their next meal would come from and if the power was going to go out,” said Miracle-Landicho. “They’ve never done anything wrong; just normal teenage stuff.”

At the time Miracle-Landicho took the sisters in, she had not only just returned from maternity leave; she had recently found out she was pregnant again.

“I went from having no kids to four kids in a year,” Miracle-Landicho said, adding that she has two children who are 11 months apart. “My children range from teenagers to babies. My husband and I had just had a baby, but these girls had no one and needed us. I will forever be grateful because working for YAP has given me two beautiful daughters.”

Amara is shy but is doing well in school and with her new family. Miracle-Landicho also became Amara’s Advocate before she adopted her.

Amara said now she has lots of structure in her life and is making A’s and B’s in school. India, now 19, is also doing well, and plans to enter college in the fall.

“I wouldn’t be here today if my sister had not been introduced to YAP,” Amara added. “I think it’s a great program. I learned a lot of stuff.”

Miracle-Landicho says she didn’t have a great childhood herself and although she’s young, she believes her daughters can relate to her and that they trust her. She moved to Alabama from Detroit with her husband five years ago and found work immediately at YAP.

“I truly believed I needed to be working with YAP and the youth here,” she said. “Without YAP, all these kids we’ve helped would not have been where they are now.”

Miracle-Landicho added, “I am only 28 years-old and I plan to retire with YAP. I love the mission. This organization has given me such great purpose and has been a blessing to our communities. I can’t see myself working anywhere else. YAP is my home.”

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org and follow the organization on Twitter @YAPInc.

Chicago – Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP), Inc. Chicago Washington Heights Violence Interruption team turned an empty lot that once had grass as high as 3 feet into a garden with vegetables for the community to enjoy.

The vacant lot used to be where a home was situated until it burned down, and the remnants were eventually bulldozed said Program Director Ken Lewis.

“Some young people were driving into the alley and using the lot as an access point to shoot at a home across the street,” Lewis said. “Nobody was taking care of the lot. It’s actually located on a nice block.”

With the help of neighbors and through community outreach, Lewis and his team refurbished the lot. They planted flowers, collard greens, cabbage, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red and green bell peppers, along with jalapeno and habanero peppers.

“From start to finish, it took a little while to complete,” Lewis said. “But once we got the lot’s grass down to a manageable size, it took about a week to plant the garden. We finished on Juneteenth and worked the whole day.”

The Washington Heights Violence Interruption program is funded through a grant from the City of Chicago, which provides violence interruption services through street outreach. Street outreach includes crisis intervention, peace building activities, hospital outreach, family engagement, individual mentoring and conflict resolution by resolving disputes.

YAP, a national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia, partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based wraparound services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. The organization has been in the Chicago area for the last 15 years.

The violence interruption team will work alongside the community to maintain the garden and hopes to have help from young people employed through the One Summer Chicago Program, which helps youth between the ages of 14-24 find employment and internship opportunities through government institutions, community-based organizations, and other companies.

Lewis said the garden will also be a safe place for families to host children’s birthday parties and events. In due time they’re hoping a fence and benches will be added.

“We are definitely going to help maintain the garden,” Lewis added. “We worked hard to help create that garden and we want to do the same thing in other places where we can make an impact. We want the community to take pride in where they live.”

Learn more about YAP’s work at YAPinc.org and follow the organization on Twitter @YAPInc.

After spending five months at a Kentucky residential facility and just a few weeks before his release date, Axl was in trouble again, this time for breaking house rules. By age 16, the Lexington youth had been before a judge for altercations at home and in the community, and the final straw, he said, shoplifting “a couple of carts full” of items from Walmart.

Instead of getting more time at the youth facility, Axl said the state’s youth justice system referred him to Lexington, KY Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. for diversion services. YAP is a national nonprofit in more than 100 communities in 33 states and the District of Columbia that provides community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate out-of-home placement and treatment, and neighborhood violence. Axl’s Advocate was Madison “Maddy” Rymer.

“At first, I was like, ‘I have to talk to this person for six months!?’ I thought that was a long time. After meeting my Advocate, going to the groups, and understanding what the program’s for, I was happy to be there,” Axl said.

Now 18, after successfully completing the rehabilitative services he received through YAP, Axl’s record is clean. He has a new outlook on life, new skills for having a good relationship with his family, partner and others, a new name and pronouns (selected since leaving the residential facility), and a new full-time job.

“I’m working at McLane’s (warehouse) making $16 an hour and time and a half for anything over 40 hours a week,” Axl said. I’m thinking about staying and moving up; and I also want to go to college. I just got accepted at Bluegrass Technical College.”

Axl also recently accepted an opportunity to become a YAP Voice Champion, where he will join other former YAP program participants to share his story with local and national youth organizations, prospective program funders, policy makers, and others working to make systems more effective and equitable for young people, especially children of color and LGBTQ youth.

Axl is excited about all the positive changes in his life and credits Rymer for helping him see and nurture his strengths.

“Before Maddy, I believed residential was what I needed,” Axl said. “Maddy supported me through everything; no matter what. She was there when I needed her. She was interested in how I was feeling and was not judgmental.”

YAP Advocates receive training to help young people see and nurture their strengths. Working with Maddy, Axl saw that a personality trait, often viewed by himself and others as stubborn and negative, is one of his many positive attributes.”

“If I know something is right; I’ll argue my point. I stand up for other people, especially at my school, which is an alternative school.”

Axl looks forward to serving as a YAP Voice Champion and sharing his story to make it possible for other young people to have an opportunity to receive community-based youth justice, behavioral health, and/or child welfare services as an alternative to residential placement.

Learn more about YAP at www.YAPInc.org and follow the organization on Twitter @YAPInc.

Cincinnati, Ohio – The staff at Hamilton County’s Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., look for strengths in the young people they serve and build upon them to help keep youth safely home and out of trouble.

To combat gun violence in the community, the program engages with youth by showing participants the effects of gun violence, bringing speakers in to share the consequences of violence, and by providing them with new experiences — taking them to places they may never have visited before.  

Ninety percent of program participants are in the program because of gun possession charges.

“There’s no magic elixir to this,” said Hamilton County Director Nate Lett. “The participants tell us that ‘everyone in the neighborhood has a gun and if I don’t have one, I am at a disadvantage.’ They’re dealing with a lot of peer pressure.”

YAP is a nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide transformative community-based wraparound services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. Neighborhood-based Advocates are paired with youth to provide them and their families with emotional, economic, and educational support. The goal is to help program participants turn their lives around while firming their family’s foundation.

“YAP is not a traditional social service agency,” Lett said. “We don’t use the same old, same old social service methods to help alleviate problems with violence and it’s really refreshing.”

Hamilton County (Ohio) Juvenile Court is one of six U.S. youth justice systems that received Safely Home program startup grants in late 2019 through YAP’s partnership with Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR). YAP and CJJR collaborated to create the unique grant to provide a year of funding to seed innovative community-based rehabilitative services for the highest-risk youth, many whose histories include serious offenses, multiple arrests, and lengthy out-of-home placements.

YAP believes young people should be accountable for their actions and connects them with individualized tools to see and manage the trauma associated with them. The nonprofit provides opportunities for young people to work, go to school and connect with victims’ groups through restorative justice initiatives. As part of its wraparound services model, YAP also asks program participants to commit to giving back to their communities.

Steve Best, a probation officer with Hamilton County Juvenile Court, said it’s great working with an agency such as YAP that recognizes life continues to happen with youth and their families outside the parameters of Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Our Court’s involvement with YAP has provided the advocacy and support to ensure that court-involved youth reach their personal goals and court mandated obligations by eliminating barriers that might hinder their success,” Best said. “The capacity to provide supports for our youth and families in “real-time” has been invaluable.”

Lett said that’s why YAP takes an holistic approach in helping young people.

“If you’re not helping the family out too, in addition to the youth, then you’re putting them back into a difficult situation,” Lett added. “We must look at things from a family approach when we talk about helping youth.”

And understanding where youth come from is important, Lett says, because where some of them live, guns and violence is unfortunately normal.

Background  

Lett is originally from Cleveland but spent most of his adulthood in Cincinnati and made Hamilton County his home in 2000. He joined YAP almost three years ago and has worked in social services since 1987. He’s been a director, case manager working with formerly incarcerated individuals; worked for the county, for job readiness programs and has led a fatherhood initiative.

“Most of the programs out there are for adult offenders, but we need to work on reaching youths before they enter and get entrenched in the system,” Lett said. “I have a passion for this.”

Six months ago, Lett hired Assistant Program Director Al-Raheim Washington. Washington is originally from Newark, N.J. but moved to Dayton, Ohio as a child.

“I was homeless, I was a high school dropout, and I was in recovery,” Washington said. “I changed my life around. I am sober and 12 years clean.”

After obtaining his college degree, Washington wanted a job where he could help young people and YAP seemed like the perfect fit. Before joining YAP, Washington worked at an after school program, a charter school, for the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club.

“What these young people are dealing with I have more than likely experienced myself,” Washington said. “I know what they need and what they want. If I was in their situation when I was younger, an organization like YAP is what I would have wanted in my life.”

Lett said he and Washington are on the same page as far as their vision for transforming the lives of young people and supporting Advocates who are so heavily involved in their lives.

Right now, they’re focused on staff recruitment and maximizing engagement with youths.

“For some youths, it’s their first time being exposed to different things,” Lett said. “We take them golfing, go kart riding and fishing…We want to let them know that there are other things aside from their four blocks or area.”

Lett and Washington said they are in need of 10 additional Advocates.

“You have to have patience when dealing with these youth,” Washington said. “You need empathy to understand and to help deal with them.”

To learn more about YAP, visit yapinc.org or follow YAP on Twitter @YAPInc.