YAP, Inc.The Neighborhood Advocate

Washington D.C. – Members of the Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Board of Directors meeting in Washington, D.C. this month received a briefing from area employees of the nonprofit who are engaged in high profile violence prevention work.

YAP is a national nonprofit in 33 states and Washington, D.C. better known for its partnerships with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and congregate residential placements. In the past five years, YAP has also implemented public safety initiatives in partnership with local governments to help curb neighborhood violence. As part of a gathering to recognize outgoing members, YAP’s Board invited employees engaged in violence prevention work to share their experiences.

YAP National Violence Prevention Director Fred Fogg provided an overview of YAP’s credible messenger

programs. Maryland-D.C. Regional Director Craig Jernigan introduced members of four YAP Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Violence Prevention programs along with a couple of program participants. YAP’s teams are led by credible messengers, many of whom, like YAP Violence Prevention program participants, have served time in prison.

YAP Program Coordinator Charles Bentil spoke about joining YAP about three years ago after learning of the nonprofit’s core youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems partnerships to provide alternatives to incarceration and congregate residential placements.

He introduced Anthony, whom he began working with about two years ago when he was about to leave prison to re-enter the community. Anthony shared how Bentil’s support has strengthened his family relationships and helped him find employment and connections to resources as he pursues a music career, and re-entry services. Larry, another YAP program participant praised the organization for connecting him to his job, “which is now full-time and comes with benefits,” he said.

Eyone Williams, who began working as a YAP violence interrupter with one of the nonprofit’s Washington, D.C. programs spoke of how rewarding it is to give back after being incarcerated at 16 years-old in federal (adult) prison for 18 years.  YAP Baltimore Advocate Tim Rich, also founder of the R.I.C.H. program, spoke of the fulfillment of helping young people turn their lives around. As a YAP Advocate, Rich connects young people to tools to help them see their strengths while ensuring that their families have resources to firm their foundation.

Irene Conway, who works with one of YAP’s Baltimore Violence Prevention programs, spoke of her former life and shared a moving story about a program participant who after a violent incident was left severely injured. This story is withholding details to protect the program participant’s privacy.

She connected the individual with medical and basic needs resources and is working to connect the family with other tools to set them on a positive path without retaliation.

As part of the event, the board recognized outgoing members Lynette M. Brown-Sow, Vivian Sanks-King, Fran Lanigan and Randolph Stone for their years of service.

During their time together in Washington, D.C., Board Chair Teddy Reese presented  members Janet Lincoln and Clarence Campbell with Leading by Example awards.

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

Reprinted from The Sullivan County Child Care Council Summer Newsletter   By Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Program Director Sarah March Vasquez

Sullivan County, NY — When anyone asks me about my job the first thing, I always say is that we’re hiring! The work that we do at Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. is rewarding and so meaningful. The need has never been greater for the work that we do.

YAP is a 47-year-old national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia serving nearly 150 communities, including Sullivan County. The organization is unique, partnering with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide safe, effective community-based alternatives to incarcerating young people or placing them in congregate care facilities.

When you work with YAP, you are working with the children and their families in the community that we live in. YAP’s services adhere to an evidence-based model that includes hiring neighborhood-based Advocates and/or behavioral health professionals who provide mobile services. We receive training that empowers us with tools to meet program professionals where they are, to see their strengths and to connect them with individualized tools to set and achieve positive goals.

As a YAP Advocate, you work with program participants one-to-one and help to make a difference in their lives. The people we work with have often been let down and appreciate having someone that they count on to serve as a role model, and to empower them with tools to succeed in life and give back to their communities. We understand that many of the children and families in our programs have had numerous service providers in and out of their lives and that it often takes time for them to really start to trust us and open up. But once they do, it’s a beautiful thing.

Before his promotion to a national leadership position with the organization, the previous Sullivan County YAP program director, Carl Graham, had been working with this organization for almost 22 years. YAP is not a place that’s easy to leave. Speaking personally, it gives you purpose. I was the kind of child growing up who could have really used an Advocate, but unfortunately did not have one. Working here gives me the opportunity to help kids and share my experiences and to show them that there is a better way of life and that if you work hard enough, with the right support, you can do anything that you set your mind to. When a child can relate to you and sees that you have been where they are it allows them to start to trust you and to open to you.

We had a participant who had been in the foster care system and was back home with her mother on a trial basis. She wanted nothing to do with anyone in the program and had no interest in anything that we had to offer. From a very young age she was taught not to trust anyone, that no one really wants to help you and that you don’t talk about anything that goes on in the home or with your family. But we didn’t give up we kept trying and kept working to show this participant that we were not going anywhere and that when we say we want to help in anyway that we can, we mean it. She started to come around but was still very closed off.

She ended up moving out of her mother’s home and getting pregnant while in the program. As her YAP Advocate, I promised her that I would be there for her every step of the way and that’s exactly what I did. I worked with her to prepare for the baby by going over safety, birthing plans, plans for after the baby is born and so on. The same participant who wanted nothing to do with us was now inviting me to her anatomy scan to learn the baby’s gender.

We also had two siblings in our program.  When we first started working with these children, they struggled with being respectful and taking care of themselves or their belongings. They were both failing school and barely going and spent a lot of time on their own, doing whatever they wanted. We worked with this family for almost two years, and the children and parents are now doing amazing. The students are both on honor roll in school, attending school daily, and showing respect for themselves and others. They are focusing on their goals that we helped them set and are working towards them every day. Their behavior has improved tremendously. These two children now see that they are worth it and all it took was someone believing in them and their family.

Another program participant came to us on probation and was looking at jail time. He told us he was simply following in the footsteps of his family and was doing the only thing that he ever knew. When we first started working with this youth, he told me that there was no reason to shower or brush his teeth. He was violating his probation constantly, was not attending school and did not care about what the consequences were going to be. In this case, we learned that it was not so much that he did not want to do the right thing or that he did not want to not take care of himself, it was that no one ever showed him or taught him how to and that’s where we came in. By the end of the two years that he was in YAP, he had successfully completed probation, was attending school and was on track to graduate, and was offered a scholarship to a technical school in New York City. He was taking care of himself: showering daily, brushing his teeth, and washing his clothes.

Every time a YAP participant’s service period is ending, I tell them that just because they will not technically be in the program anymore doesn’t mean we won’t still be there for them. I tell them they can still reach out to me at any time. So many of the children and even families that my colleagues and I have worked with still reach out to just to check in from time to time. Working at YAP and helping children is my passion and if I can make even the slightest difference in someone’s life then I am doing my job. I am a strong believer that everyone deserves a second chance.

As I said in the beginning, we’re hiring. Learn more about YAP, how you can partner with or support us, as well as available positions in your area at YAPInc.org. Follow us on Twitter @YAPInc.

Dallas – For the past five years Angela Heggins has worked for Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. in Dallas County helping youth and their families work through their behavioral health struggles.

“I provide sessions to children who have a mental health diagnosis to help them work on their behavior, understanding their mental illness and provide them with education,” said Heggins, a qualified mental health professional. “I help with anything that helps increase their knowledge about what is going on and giving them the tools they need when their case has been closed successfully.”

YAP’s Texas Behavioral Health program offers a continuum of behavioral health to support children and adolescents in their homes, schools and community. YAP’s trauma-informed services help individuals build resilience and promote healing and mitigate potential negative impacts by connecting youth with supportive adults, providing evidence-based treatments. In addition to Dallas, the Texas program is offered in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.

A national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia, YAP supports youth justice, child welfare, and behavioral health systems partners by providing effective community-based alternatives to incarceration and congregate out-of-home placements.

Heggins, whose background includes behavioral and mental health, is a full-time supervisor working with adults at the public defender’s office overseeing mental health case managers, and works for YAP part-time providing services to young people and their families.

“I applied to YAP because I saw the mission statement about helping children,” Heggins said. “I see the effects of where a child can grow up and end up on the adult side (of the justice system). With children, they’re more apt to change their behavior as opposed to adults. Children are more open to seeing the overall picture. Sometimes adults don’t see the need to try to change their behavior because they’ve been doing it for so long.”

Heggins says a lot of the families she works with are from low-income backgrounds and single parent homes. She makes it a point to make all her program participants feel special and cared for. She provides rewards for program participants for simple tasks and works with them to complete 30-day contracts she implements that may include not cursing at their parents or acting out at school. YAP reimburses staff for things like this, but Heggins says sometimes she forgets to turn in receipts because she “just likes brightening youths’ day.”

“The joy I get from the kids’ faces when they come out of the store with their own bags and have picked their own stuff is the reward for me,” she added. “I love my job. It’s a small thing, but sometimes I give them gift cards. I also go above and beyond when my kids have birthdays.”

Heggins also appreciates the special role she plays with program participants who, like her, are African American.

“In the African American culture, we have probably lived with mental illness and seen our family members have it for years and we would say, ‘oh that’s just Uncle Johnny, that’s how he acts;’ never understanding that Uncle Johnny needs some help,’ but I want people to know if you don’t have insurance there’s still help for you whether it’s needed for kids or adults.”

Dallas County Behavioral Health Program Director Rodney Taylor said Heggins is able to blend professionalism, competence, and authenticity that contributes to the betterment of YAP’s families.

“In the five years she has served with YAP she has helped change countless lives and alter future destinies into a more positive direction,” Taylor said. “Angela is also a tremendous team player as she is quick to lend support to new team members, take on a new program participant or assist in a training opportunity. There are a lot of good things about YAP and Angela is a necessary part of the discussion of the good that YAP provides to its families and the community at large.”

Born in Minnesota and raised in Arkansas, Heggins moved to Dallas after a change of life. Heggins plans on continuing to make a difference in the lives of families and youth for a long time.

“I say contact me if you need some help,” Heggins added. “It’s rewarding for me when program participants get discharged successfully and when they meet their goals.”

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

Chicago – Kiwon used to think about making bad choices to help feed his baby and keep a roof over his head, but with the help of Youth Advocate Program’s (YAP), Inc., Service Coordination and Navigation or SCAN program, he’s earned his GED, found housing, and is encouraged to get his barbering license.

“I used to think about doing bad things until YAP talked to me and guided me to better ways,” 21-year-old Kiwon said. “It’s been good for me. I love it.”

Kiwon and other young people whom YAP assisted in finishing high school or completing their GED, gain employment, and/or find housing, gathered at a Community Connection Event on the last Saturday in May. Families and youth from the Englewood and Newcity areas celebrated YAP’s one-year success of its Chicago SCAN program, which connects youth ages 14-24 to accessible economic, educational, and emotional tools to help them achieve positive goals. The event included flag football, a bounce house and other games, music, fellowship, a meal and desserts, along with YAP swag and informational resources about the organization.

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 transformative community-based wraparound services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. Through funding from Chicago’s Department of Family Support and Service, YAP began its SCAN program early last year to support high-risk youth who may face complex individual or family challenges.

“We’ve had a great success rate with this program in providing housing, employment and reconnecting youth to finishing school,” said Lisa Watts, YAP Chicago’s Department of Family Support and Service Director. “We had a great turnout at the Community Connection Event celebrating the positivity occurring with youth in YAP’s Chicago SCAN program.”

YAP Chicago SCAN participants Simeon and Jeremiah have found guidance, support and kinship through the program.

“It helps me stay out of trouble,” Simeon said. “It helps to keep me motivated.”

Jeremiah added, “They helped me with the problems I was going through, and I actually was able to help other friends too. They’re like family now.”

For 15 years, YAP has been in Chicago matching youth justice and child welfare-involved youth and families with mostly neighborhood-based Advocates trained to help them see their strengths and connect them and their families with tools, even basic needs resources, to empower them to overcome barriers to success.

In addition to SCAN and its community-based youth justice and child welfare services, the nonprofit’s Chicago office recently launched a Violence Interruption Program in Washington Heights where YAP Advocates provide outreach aimed to resolve disputes, and diffuse conflict among youths and young adults.

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

Oakland, Calif. – Alameda County’s Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Director Timeka McGowan’s purpose is simple – to help young people make better decisions so they don’t end up in the prison system.

“Youth incarceration is the school-to-prison pipeline,” McGowan said. “It’s like we’re teaching youth how to survive being in jail with the police being at the schools and going to jail for minor offenses. California is not as punitive as they used to be, but it seems like once they go into the adult system, it’s like they can never get out.”

YAP is a national nonprofit in 33 states and Washington, D.C., that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and congregate residential placements. YAP also partners with public safety systems to combine the nonprofit’s unique wraparound services approach with other evidence-based models to reduce violence.

Because she wanted to connect with youth and help keep them out of prison, McGowan left her job in an adult prison in Santa Rita, Calif. where she was the director for a recidivism program for five years.

“That job made me feel like if I could catch youths beforehand, as opposed to when they were adults, it would be easier for me,” McGowan said. “Youth are easier to convince and easier to work with if they have not been exposed to so much. So I thought if I go into juvenile justice, I can catch them before they go into the adult system and assist them with services that have affected their trauma and assist their families.”

YAP’s Alameda County program is a youth justice program, where through referrals, program participants are sent to YAP and assigned a neighborhood-based Advocate who champions for them and their families through economic, emotional and educational support. The office works with probation officers to create an individualized service plan for youths.

The office is situated in East Oakland, not too far from the Oakland International Airport, but services all of the 14 incorporated cities/towns within Alameda County including Berkeley and Hayward. McGowan appreciates that YAP has a no-reject, no-eject policy, and it’s another reason why she applied for the job.

“I like YAP’s mission,” McGowan added. “We don’t turn anyone away. A lot of organizations are turning kids away and we don’t. We help both the youth and their families and we help change their behaviors.”

Senior Advocate Krystina Stephens said having a supportive supervisor like McGowan is key. The pair were recently on the phone together for four hours when Stephens was with a program participant trying to deescalate a fight between the youth and her sister who were arguing over a wig.

“Timeka is awesome and she’s super supportive,” Stephens said. “She is genuine and always available. I had a crisis with a youth recently and she was on the phone with me the entire time helping. I know I can count on her.”

Born in Dallas, McGowan was 7 years-old when her family moved to California’s Bay Area. She was a military kid whose family lived on the now defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, Calif.

“There was a lot of discipline in my family growing up, however, I witnessed a lot of things in Oakland in the 80s and 90s,” McGowan said. “My cousin owned a store in Oakland and he made me attend several funerals for the kids who were getting killed in the neighborhood. It kind of caused me some trauma. Then, when I had my two Black sons, it made me worry about their safety a lot just doing normal things. It really made me think about doing more. I wanted to be a part of the solution.”

McGowan attended California State University Hayward, which is now called California State East Bay. Through her own experiences, education and former employment, she’s able to combine all three to help in her leadership role. She says the job hasn’t always been easy, but it’s rewarding.

“Some days are better than others,” she said, adding, “But I enjoy what I do.”

To learn more about YAP, visit yapinc.org. You can follow YAP on Twitter @YAPInc. Click here to read more about Alameda County’s recruitment efforts.

Washington, D.C. — When Charles Bentil learned that Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. was looking for internal leaders willing to coach their peers in the organization’s “Recruit, Relaunch, Reconnect” (RRR) campaign, he applied for and got the job.

“In late 2021, with signs that the pandemic was coming to an end, YAP executive leaders launched the RRR campaign to get out in front of the Great Resignation,” Bentil said. “They wanted to make sure YAP was sufficiently staffed to resume in-person services with current programs while also having enough employees on board to serve new program participants.”

YAP is a national nonprofit in 33 states and Washington, D.C., that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and congregate residential placements. YAP also partners with public safety systems to combine the nonprofit’s unique wraparound services approach with other evidence-based models to reduce violence. In recent years, energized by the social justice movement in 2020, more communities looking to transform systems to become more effective provided new opportunities for YAP to expand all its programs.

Bentil serves as Program Coordinator for one of the nonprofit’s violence prevention programs that hires formerly incarcerated individuals to serve as credible messengers. In 2019, six months after joining the YAP staff, Bentil, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Hampton University before his incarceration, shared his story with board members and fellow employees.

“Several years ago, I was a victim of a violent crime and was shot 13 times. I woke up from a coma after 32 days paralyzed from the waist down just to be charged under the King Pin Act. I was sentenced to 180 months 15 years for those who are not quick in math. For my first two years in prison, I was in a wheelchair and told I may not walk again. As you can see the devil is a liar. I’m up walking with a limp but waling,” he said. “While in prison I woke up from a different kind of coma – a time when I was dealing, when I was chasing money, and from when I was destroying families and communities selling poison. When I made this transition, I began mentoring young men who were coming in lost and with less than a 7th or 8th grade education.”

The new YAP Recruitment Specialist role adds to Bentil’s current responsibilities, with opportunities to gain new skills along the way. This month, he traveled from Washington, D.C., where the program he oversees is based, to meet with YAP’s Alameda, County, Calif. Youth Justice program team.

“The office was very receptive to any and every suggestion I had on recruitment and retention. The office is a brand-new team, from the Director down to part-time Advocates. All have less than six months on the job,” Bentil said.

“While in East Oakland we visited a work force development agency and then we were invited to a job fair. This fair has already produced two possible prospective bilingual employees.”

The timing could not have been more perfect for Alameda YAP Program Director Timeka McGowan, who recently accepted the position to lead the two-year-old program, and is looking to add three to five new staffers.

“Charles was great,” she said. “He assisted with engagement, going out into the community, and connecting us with organizations that are familiar with wraparound services.”

In addition to the Recruitment Specialists who receive additional compensation for their expanded roles, YAP included in its RRR campaign staff bonuses for recruitment and retention and launched a nationwide digital, TV, radio and print public service awareness (PSA) campaign. The goal is to tap into the current climate of people who are looking to make a difference in a workplace that leverages their individual strengths. The tagline for YAP’s PSA campaign, which appears in digital ads, is Others Talk Social Change, We Make it Happen.

After meeting with McGowan and her team, Bentil feels confident that Alameda County will be successful in retaining the great employees who have recently joined YAP, in addition to bringing on new ones who will be just as committed to advancing YAP’s mission.

“This office is destined for greatness,” he said.

To learn more about YAP and whether there are job openings in your community, please visit yapinc.org. You can follow YAP on Twitter @YAPInc.

Wayne County, NY — Three years out of prison and fresh off parole, James Schuler was making money fixing cars in 2012 when someone told him about Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Although at first, he was confused about what the program did, Schuler knew it had something to do with what has always come second nature to him – helping young people succeed in life.

YAP is a national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public safety systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, congregate residential placements, and neighborhood violence.

When Schuler showed up without an appointment, Wayne County YAP Program Director Mike Crespo was happy to meet with him. Crespo was so moved by Schuler’s story that he invited him to speak at an upcoming YAP-hosted parents’ event.

“I told them that I served 10 years in 11 New York state prisons after being convicted of possessing half a gram of crack cocaine,” Schuler said. “I was 29 when I went into prison with a wife and three daughters who were 9, 6 and eight months at the time. I ended up getting a divorce, but fortunately, my wife married me again when I got home.”

Schuler recalls that after his speech, there were few dry eyes in the standing room-only space. “Before I could leave the building, Mike was offering me a job to be a YAP Advocate,” he said.

Schuler accepted the job and for nearly a decade worked as a frontline YAP Advocate and Program Coordinator, when late last year he  accepted a position as Wayne County YAP Assistant Director. In his time with YAP, he has often told his personal story as an invited guest at churches, community events and schools. Formally and informally, at every opportunity, Schuler inspires and encourages young people to see and nurture their strengths. One of the highlights of Schuler’s community work came in 2014, when he was selected to represent Wayne County as part of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative to help boys and men of color reach their full potential.

He arranges cultural activities and boat rides for young people – experiences that until meeting Schuler many considered off limits. He also regularly speaks to students at Hobart William Smith Colleges where he has brought more than 100 YAP program participants and other youths to visit and participate in campus tours.

“To my surprise, last week, I was the first individual to be named Community Partner of the Year,” he said. “Hobart and William Smith Colleges recognized my work with the community as a YAP employee as well as what I do with My Brother’s Keeper.”

In 2020, after the world learned of the death of George Floyd after he struggled to breathe under a police officer’s knee, Schuler worked with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and a group of area high school students to host a march and rally.

At the event, a former program participant named Travontay talked about how as his YAP Advocate, Schuler empowered him with tools to change his life. Travontay and his family had been homeless when a school prank almost landed him in youth prison.

“He’s an amazing man who became my role model and family Advocate. He worked with a lawyer to fight for me to stay in the program instead of going to youth prison,” Travontay said. “As part of his services, he worked with my mom’s family to bring us back together. My uncle let us move into his house; my mom got a better job, and I started doing better in school.”

Schuler said Travontay and his family have continued to do well.

Schuler knows that his story is one of many examples of what YAP is all about. From the staff like Crespo, who still works side-by-side with him, to the community partners and the young people and families receiving services, it’s about working together to achieve positive outcomes.

“It’s seeing individual and collective strengths and giving one another every opportunity to nurture them,” he said.

That’s how Schuler and his fellow YAP staff safely support and help youth, families and communities thrive.

Learn more about YAP at YAPInc.org. Follow the organization on Twitter @YAPinc.

Orlando, Florida — Carmen Ziers looks back to her childhood in Punto Fijo, a small community in Venezuela, and chuckles thinking of how her dreams have become reality.

“I always told my friends I wanted to be a psychologist so that [jokingly] I can know the gossip,” she said.

In all seriousness, she recognizes that she always had a heart for helping people.

Ziers is Clinical Director at Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. in Central Florida, overseeing a team of 20 Behavioral Health program professionals who provide services to children and families facing complex challenges. A national nonprofit in 33 states and the District of Columbia, YAP supports youth justice, child welfare, and behavioral health systems partners by providing effective community-based alternatives to incarceration and congregate out-of-home placements. YAP’s Behavioral Health program referrals in Central Florida come from child welfare, youth justice and behavioral health systems partners, schools, community organizations and in some cases, the families, themselves.

“These services have helped children navigate from foster care to reunification; from diversion to home and from difficult situations at school to better behaviors that contribute to their flourishing as strong individuals,” Ziers said.

After marrying a Venezuela-based, U.S.-born college professor in 1988, Ziers joined him when he returned to St. Augustine, Florida. While the marriage ended in divorce several years later, she remained in the States and in 1996, remarried, had two sons, moved to and settled in Orlando, and began a career in accounting.

“I was working at H&R Block and my line was always the longest one,” she said. “People I worked with were happy, even if they had to pay.”

In a city where Spanish is the first language for more than a quarter of the population, Ziers said part of the appeal was that she’s bilingual. But it went beyond that. People connected with her because she showed them that she cared about them as individuals.

When Ziers’ oldest son was diagnosed with autism, she was more motivated than ever to pursue a profession where she could apply her passion for helping people full time.

“My son started therapy and I said, ‘Oh no, I see that a lot of clinicians don’t speak Spanish.’ “I said, ‘I want to become a therapist.’ I started in 2002 from scratch,” she recalled. “In 12 years, I got my GED, bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida, and two master’s degrees — in mental health counseling and family counseling from Palm Beach Atlantic University.”

Prior to working for YAP, Ziers was a counselor at the University of Central Florida, working in the department of Marriage and Families Research Institute. She specialized in helping couples, families and individuals develop positive ways of communicating at home and with their children.

When Ziers’ learned about YAP and how the nonprofit specializes in working with systems partners to provide community-based services as an alternative to out-of-home placement, she wanted to be a part of it.

In 2016, she joined the YAP team that serves Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties. She developed YAP’s Central Florida Behavioral Health program, which now serves 250 children and their parents/guardians and has provided services for 1,136 individuals since its launch.

Being a mother of a child with autism has given Ziers valuable wisdom, which she has shared in her work at YAP when working with parents who need support creating their children’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) plans.

Growing up in “super poor” circumstances, as she describes her early years, Ziers’ work at YAP is the culmination of valuable life experiences. She recently celebrated her 25^th anniversary and her family in Orlando now includes her mother and a pet bird. Her sons are thriving. The youngest is in college and her first-born has completed college and is working — with a full-time job with another part-time one at Sea World Orlando.

Ziers works hard to recruit employees who represent the program participants YAP serves in Central Florida, recognizing that in many communities, mental health services have historically been stigmatized. Eighty percent of her clinicians are Hispanic and 15 percent are Black, and among them are a therapist of Haitian descent who speaks Creole and another from Brazil who speaks Portuguese.

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

A group of Tarrant County youths, some home from youth justice facilities and others receiving community-based services as an alternative – spent last week learning about Ecological Health – the health of people, animals, and ecosystems – as part of Restoration Not Incarceration™ during Fort Worth Prairie Park Work Week. The week included prairie restoration on the native Fort Worth Prairie (now one of the most endangered native ecosystems in North America) and nature-based work therapy for re-entry youth.

The youth are participants in Tarrant County Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. A national nonprofit in 32 states and the District of Columbia, YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, public safety, and other systems to provide community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. Tarrant County Juvenile Services and YAP work in partnership to promote positive youth development.

Restoration Not Incarceration™ (RNI) provides ecological restoration and preservation in conjunction with rehabilitation and recidivism reduction of young adults and youth. Based in Texas, RNI currently also offers work with partners in West Atlanta’s old growth forest and South Florida’s wild shark and mangrove ecosystems. In partnership with the non-profit Great Plains Restoration Council’s Restoration Not Incarceration™ program, Tarrant County YAP youth were paid for working outdoor green jobs by clearing brush overgrowth that is choking out native prairie on federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land near Benbrook Lake. This clearing enables the grassland’s rare biodiversity to flourish and provides habitat for wildlife like continentally-migrating (and declining) grassland nesting birds and Monarch butterflies.

“We take care of our own health through taking care of the endangered Earth. By taking care of others, we take care of ourselves,” said Great Plains Restoration Council (GPRC) Founder Jarid Manos. “Through GPRC’s Ecological Health model, nature-based work therapy tactically restoring and protecting threatened wild places and wildlife helps participants become more unbreakable and become ecosystem participants. The interconnected nurture and strengthening of self and Earth buttresses mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness.”

YAP participants’ work helped preserve water quality in the Upper Trinity River Watershed and assisted in providing ecological support for climate change resilience. Program participants will take an introductory course in Ecological Health Practices and Principles, and those who pass the course will receive certification.

“YAP’s community-based model is all about helping young people see their strengths and connecting them and their parents, guardians, and other family members with tools to achieve positive goals,” said Sonny Chapa, Program Director of Tarrant County YAP. “Great Plains Restoration Council’s ‘Restoration Not Incarceration program’ is an excellent tool that will provide our program participants with unique experiences that will benefit them now and for years to come.”

Tarrant County YAP Advocates and staff worked hard to transport program participants to-and-from the site.

Manos added that youth worked hard in new green jobs outdoors, learned a lot, earned some money, and helped breathe life back into the Fort Worth Prairie.

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

Providence, RI — At age 22, after her recent emancipation from foster care, Sylvia is determined and finally feels equipped to pursue a future based on her strengths. She credits her godmother, Mary Harrison, whose love is unconditional, and staff at Rhode Island Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., a nonprofit that empowered her with tools to navigate complex childhood challenges.

Sylvia was a co-presenter with New England Youth Coalition (NEYC) at the April 2022 Child Welfare League of America national conference in Washington, DC.   

She has her own place, is enrolled in a 12-month college medical field certificate program, and recently started a new job at JBS International as a National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) reviewer. 

“NYTD was the biggest job opportunity I received last year and I’m excited to see where it goes,” she said.

Sylvia was 5 when she went into foster care and was back home living with her biological mother at age 7. When she was 10, she went to live with her biological father for six years until an altercation led her to her sister’s place, where things didn’t go well. By age 17, she was back in foster care, this time in a group home, where she became connected with YAP. 

“Before YAP, I was so angry, and even during YAP, angry – fighting and getting in trouble,” she said. “When you’re in group homes, you have restrictions. I went AWOL a lot.”  

Sylvia recalled that one night, she packed her bags and was determined to run away until her godmother talked her out of it. “YAP was an escape from all of that,” she added.   

A national nonprofit in 32 states and the District of Columbia, YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, congregate child welfare, behavioral health and other placements, and neighborhood violence. With child welfare system-involved youth, YAP’s goal is family reunification and, in the meantime, or until emancipation, the nonprofit helps program participants see their strengths and connects them with individualized emotional, educational and/or economic tools to pursue positive goals.   

When Rhode Island YAP Director Dave Pacheco saw that Sylvia and her first Advocate were not the best match, he and his team paired her with Megan Costa. By then, Sylvia was in her second group home.  

“Megan was carefree. She didn’t press me about sharing things and she just felt like a friend,” Sylvia said. 

Sylvia said Megan helped her see her independent nature as a strength and encouraged her to apply for a job as a host at a local Ruby Tuesday. The restaurant closed in 2019 just before the pandemic, but Sylvia was there long enough to start seeing herself and the world around her differently.

“I learned that I’m hardworking and that job also woke me up and taught me a lot about other people,” she said. “A co-worker was a young mother; she didn’t talk about it, but I saw where her passion came from and why she worked so hard. I had a lot of respect for that. It brought me so much joy to see other moms work so hard for their kids.”  

Sylvia said as she continued to mature, there were ups and downs, and that YAP was there for all of it.   

“I had many altercations in group homes and Megan came through for me during those times and was unbiased and corrected me when I was wrong,” Sylvia said. 

Sylvia continued to receive services from YAP throughout her time in foster care and said another YAP Advocate connected her to tools she needed to achieve personal, educational, and professional goals.  

 “She helped me get my high school diploma by bringing me to the YAP office and actually helped me with the work,” Sylvia said. “She taught me how to make a positive out of a negative, taught me about looking and acting professional, and when I got sent to my third group home, she made the transition so smooth.”

Sylvia added that when she started a new job far from the group home, her Advocate went above and beyond. “She would pick me up, cook me meals, take me to work and pick me up. She did this for a month, it was a chaotic time, but I was so at peace.”  

With her emancipation from foster care, Sylvia no longer receives YAP services but said she wouldn’t be where she is now without them.   

 “YAP is a big part of my foster care journey and I’ll always be grateful to them,” she said. “Going back into care at age 17 saved my life.”  

Today, Sylvia spends her free time with her god family, “my real family and a blessing from God,” she added.  

As a member of the Communities for People SPEAK Youth Advisory Board, Sylvia recently had an opportunity to speak to a group of social workers.  

“My advice: you need to have some passion or you’re going to burn out very quickly. There’s nothing worse than having a burnt-out social worker.” 

Her YAP Advocates’ passion was a driving force for Sylvia and key to helping her see that her own passion is not a weakness, but a strength.  

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

Charleston, S.C. – When William Cameron joined Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. more than 15 years ago, he was looking for a job with sustainable outcomes that addressed all the needs of young people; educationally, emotionally, and economically.

“I’ve worked in group homes and independent living programs and those places of businesses provided something for young people, but it wasn’t all that they needed,” Cameron said referring to youth needing care after they were discharged. “I was looking for something that could really benefit young people. You could build youth up until a certain point, but when they needed to move on, there was not anywhere for them to move on to.”

YAP is a national nonprofit in 32 states and the District of Columbia that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, intellectual disabilities, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to incarceration and congregate placements. Youth are provided with a neighborhood-based YAP Advocate or mobile behavioral health professional who helps them and their families with services they need and connects them to accessible life tools. It is common for the nonprofit’s employees to stay in contact with the youth they serve long after their time at YAP has ended.

Cameron’s first job with the nonprofit was in Pickens/Greenville County, S.C., where he oversaw the YAP Behavioral Health program for 13 years. He helped grow services, increasing participants from seven to over 30. In 2019, he moved into a YAP Youth Justice program role and began laying the groundwork for his vision of bringing wraparound services to Charleston, S.C. to help address a growing need that he knew YAP was uniquely qualified to help solve.

“Charleston is a very wealthy area, ranked No. 1 in the world as far as tourist attractions, but also has crime and gang violence — in Charleston and North Charleston,” Cameron said.

He did research and learned that there were many city leaders, public health experts and philanthropists who shared his vision. Cameron set up calls and meetings and solicited support.

Today he serves as the Program Director for Charleston County YAP, which recently partnered with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to implement an evidence-based violence intervention program called Lowcountry Rising Above Violence. MUSC was awarded a $1 million grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the U.S. Department of Justice to implement the program.

“I am very excited because this is something that was overdue for that area. This new YAP program is a great opportunity for this area and the hospital to help decrease violence,” Cameron said.

In addition to interrupting violence, Lowcountry Rising Above Violence will mediate conflicts, help prevent retaliation, and provide individual YAP Advocate wraparound services and street outreach.

“Mr. Cameron has been a relentless champion to help implement evidence-based violence intervention programming in the Charleston and North Charleston area. I met him before our MUSC Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program was even started – we formed a bond over the need to implement hospital and community violence intervention programs that have demonstrated success in reducing violent injury recidivism and retaliation and that help at-risk youth and young adults gain resources to improve their lives,” said Ashley Hink, M.D., a trauma surgeon who also serves as the medical director of MUSC’s Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program. “When I found a funding opportunity through the Department of Justice to support these efforts and complement our hospital violence intervention program through community-based work, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to potentially get this initiative off the ground with William and others from YAP. Not only does YAP have a long track record of success in violence prevention, but the organization is committed to hiring and training people within the communities most impacted by violence to do the actual work.”

Born in Charleston in a family of 10, service is in Cameron’s blood. His father was in the military. While Cameron spent most of his life in North Carolina and South Carolina, the family traveled and moved a lot. Cameron’s educational background includes speech communications and special education, both of which help him in his work at YAP. He’s worked with students on the autism spectrum and individuals with intellectual disabilities.

“William Cameron, affectionally known as Mr. Never Give Up, embraces the YAP motto of doing whatever it takes to positively impact the lives of today’s youth and young adults. William is a pleasure to work with,” said LaVeisha Cummings, YAP’s Tri-State Regional Director. “He is easy going, he puts his heart and soul in the work we do here at YAP, and he’s pretty hilarious, too. I am elated and overjoyed to have such a champion for change on my team.”

Cameron has hired the new Turning the Tide team, which is undergoing training to begin their work in Charleston and North Charleston in the next few weeks.

“This work is important to me,” Cameron said. “We have young people who live 20 minutes from the ocean and have never been. There is a lot of teaching and education that we have to do in these communities.”

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

Chicago – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. introduced its new Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program during a Community Resource and Vendor Fair on April 23. The event unveiled the new program where neighborhood-based YAP Advocates, trained to interrupt violence and provide wraparound services as an alternative, will provide street outreach aimed to resolve disputes, and diffuse conflict among youths and young adults.

YAP, a national nonprofit in 32 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 Community Resource and Vendor Fair was a celebration of YAP Chicago’s newest Violence Interruption initiative which will connect youth and residents with economic, educational, and emotional resources and information. The community event provided attendees with local resources, information about the services YAP provides, and an opportunity for attendees to shop with area vendors.

“This event was a great opportunity for members of Washington Heights to learn about our Violence Interruption Program and the work we are doing to help keep the community safe,” said Program Director Ken Lewis. “It was a great opportunity to let people know YAP’s secret sauce — that the best alternative to violence is empowering young people to see their strengths and connecting them and their families with individualized tools to set their lives on a positive course.”

In Chicago for 15 years, in 2016, YAP also began partnering with Children’s Home and Aid to deliver Choose to Change (C2C), which engages students heavily impacted by trauma and violence. University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab random control trial data found C2C is reducing violent crimes by 48%. The program recently received funding from the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to enable staff to train four other nonprofits, expanding services to reach up to 1,000 students by the end of 2022.

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

Shonda vividly remembers when she met Jaylyn. 

 “Jaylyn was one of four girls my mom was fostering. I would go to the house to help them with their homework. I connected with all of them, but Jaylyn was different,” she said 

Jaylyn was 12 and a participant in Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., paired with Advocate Milly Laboy-Samford. Partnering with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems in 32 states and the District of Columbia, YAP hires and trains neighborhood-based Advocates and mobile behavioral health specialists to provide community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration and congregate placement.

 Featured with Milly in a new YAP public service ad (PSA), Jaylyn speaks about her childhood. “I experienced trauma. I acted out, and I made some mistakes. But I’m not a mistake.” 

 “It was one of those things; all she needed was love and someone to be there and be real with her,” Shonda said. “I’d go over there to my mom’s house every day and give her positive reinforcement for the little changes I was seeing in her.”

 Mother to two girls – young adults at the time — Shonda had been considering adopting a boy. But after meeting Jaylyn, she changed her mind. If Jaylyn was up for adoption, she wanted to be her mom.

Shonda said Milly was supportive throughout the adoption process. She spent time with Jaylyn and connected both of them with tools to make the transition as smooth as possible. This was particularly important because the adoption took place during the pandemic. 

“The actual adoption happened in 2021 and it was virtual,” Shonda said, adding, “also during COVID, YAP lost state funding for the program and Milly couldn’t do as much as she did in the beginning. We were very fortunate that she still stayed in touch and came over.” 

Shonda said she appreciated that because Milly and Jaylyn share Puerto Rican ancestry, their connection came with extra benefits. During their time together, Milly shared recipes with Jaylyn, along with other cultural traditions.

 “Jaylyn has also stayed connected to cousins and other [biological] family members; and I have a good relationship with her father,” Shonda said.

 Less than a year after the adoption, Shonda says Jaylyn is feeling more confident and it’s showing as she thrives at home, in her community and at school. This is something Milly validates in the PSA saying, “She’s a good student and a great kid.” 

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

Lebanon County, PA — Deanna was working at Lebanon County Department of Human Services (DHS) when she learned that Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. could help her son, Gavin. Diagnosed with autism at age two, he was now 14 and facing new challenges.

“I didn’t feel like the school was being supportive or sensitive to our needs,” Deanna said. “When Gavin got to high school it was harder for me to navigate all of his services, including his IEP mostly because of his avoidance issues with going to school.”

An IEP, which Gavin had since elementary school, is an Individualized Education Plan, required by federal law to ensure that students with disabilities get needed support at school.

“As a caseworker I was referring clients to YAP for services. That is when I decided to call them to help our family as well,” she said

Gavin has not-so-great memories of that time, saying he was dealing with a lot of anger issues, particularly when people told him what he could not do. Speaking of that time in a new YAP public service ad (PSA), he says, “It’s enough to make you feel hopeless.”

Now in its 47th year with programs in 32 states and the District of Columbia, YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, intellectual disabilities and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and congregate care.

“YAP provided us with family-based behavioral health services and Michelle Heim [YAP Regional Quality Manager] was our savior. She attended the IEP meetings with us and explained things that were difficult to understand,” Deanna said. “She assisted with referring us for other services and most of all she truly cared about Gavin and our family. She would email me and check in on things even after she wasn’t working with us anymore.”

The new understanding and support enabled Gavin to be included in classroom and other school activities in a manner that addressed his individual needs, giving him confidence as he matured. Through YAP, he also received home-based Behavioral Health program therapeutic services to help with his anger issues.

“The therapists, Advocates – everyone was great. [National Coordinator of Developmental Disabilities Programs} Lori Burruss is a wonderful, wonderful person,” Deanna said. “[Lebanon & Schuylkill Counties Director] Deidra Deiter, too. They always helped us when we needed services.”

Deanna said the YAP Behavioral Health services team helped the family understand unhealthy behaviors that often take form when there are children who have special needs.

“They helped us understand that one family member is not allowed to be the center of everything and dictate what happens with everyone else. That was a huge transition, something we needed to work on. If it wasn’t for our YAP therapists, we never would have seen that.”

After Gavin graduated from high school in 2019, he transitioned to YAP’s Intellectual Disabilities Advocate support program, where he is now paired with Advocate Frances Rimby. Appearing alongside Gavin in the new :60 PSA, Rimby shares how she helps him see his strengths and who he can become.

Gavin makes it clear that he has come a long way, as he looks into the camera and says, “I am not hopeless.” Learn more about YAP at www.yapinc.org. Follow YAP on Twitter @YAPInc.

Newark, N.J. –  As 15-year-old Samaya shares stories of mixing oils, scents, and pigments, to create her Glossy Babe lip gloss line, her mother Alfreda Williams, feels proud. She’s also quick to share the credit for how far her daughter has come in a year.

“You’ve heard the term it takes a village to raise a child,” Williams said.

Last summer, deeply concerned about Samaya’s anger issues, Williams enrolled Samaya in a special outreach program offered by Essex Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. In its 47th year and now in 32 states and the District of Columbia, YAP is a national nonprofit better known for partnering with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration.

The outreach program allows Essex County YAP to apply its evidence-based model to help youth who may not be systems involved but are high-risk. Williams enrolled Samaya in the program to help address her anger issues. YAP applies its effective no reject, no eject model to help youth like Samaya see their strengths and set positive goals.

At intake, Samaya told YAP Program Director Curtis Moore that she wanted a job, but that because she was 14, no one would hire her. Seeing Samaya’s determination, Moore encouraged her to create her own source of income. He assigned her to YAP Advocate Lawanda Griggs.

“Mr. Moore told her that if she couldn’t get a job, she should create her own,” said Griggs, the former program coordinator of YAP in Essex County. “She was really bent on creating her own situation to make money. She started to research what type of business she could get into and saw something online where she could make lip gloss.”

With Griggs at her side, Samaya got to work. She combed the internet and viewed YouTube tutorials to learn how to make lip gloss and what formula to use to make them.

Samaya said girls in her class like things like lip balm, so they became the target market of whom she would sell her product to. She then put them into tubes and began selling them for $3.

Griggs was excited and gave her additional resources and tips along the way.

“She encouraged me to make more and gave me different techniques on how to sell them,” Samaya said. “I wanted to make some money and now I have big orders.”

Samaya says Griggs also tutored her on how to communicate with people, saying that was an issue she needed a lot of help with.

“I had an attitude problem, and I would be rude and say whatever came to my mind, even when I knew it wasn’t nice,” Samaya said. “That has all changed and I don’t do that anymore. I love my advocate because she helped me in a positive way.”

Griggs worked with Samaya so that she could also have better relationships with her mom and peers.

“I told her that if she didn’t know how to talk to people, she was never going to sell her product,” Griggs said. “We called our sessions ‘business meetings.’ She’s a really nice kid who was determined to have her own income.”

Williams is thankful for Moore, Griggs, and YAP.

“The program has helped tremendously. (Samaya) still has her moments, but she is more receptive to change and direction, ” she said.

Williams also developed a bond with Griggs because YAP doesn’t just help youth, the organization supports their families too.

“She was basically on-call,” Williams said of Griggs, adding that she was able to meet Samaya where she was. “I called her when I needed advice, insight, and how I should handle things. Even though Samaya wasn’t related to her, she still treated her like her own and treated her like part of her family. She didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I know she cared about my daughter. YAP really changed our lives.”

Moore is proud of Samaya who is also in the process of trying to get her website up-and-running.

“She doesn’t just create the lip gloss from scratch, but she manages the business from a sale, and inventory perspective, and advertises her brand on her Instagram platform,” Moore said. “Inspiring young people like Samaya to be empowered and believe in themselves is what YAP is all about.”

Even though Samaya is no longer a YAP participant, she and Griggs still connect twice a week.

“Samaya has that entrepreneurial spirit,” Griggs said. “She is a breath of fresh air.”

Added Griggs, “Once upon a time I was a teenager too and I became a teenage mother. After graduating from high school and college, I wanted to reach back and make sure they didn’t do what I did. YAP gives me an opportunity to do that.”