The Neighborhood Advocate

Some Central PA families will be safely home and eating well this Thanksgiving thanks to a special delivery from some Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. employees. Headquartered in Harrisburg, YAP is a nonprofit in 29...

By her 13th birthday, Destany had been in multiple foster homes, experienced sexual assault, and was convinced most adults are not to be trusted. Today, at 18, she’s living happily with her partner in Albany,...

Las Vegas-based Clark County Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Program Director Nyeri Richards asked her colleagues and some of the young people they serve to think about hope and resilience as they reflect on...

See an excerpt from a unique virtual event featuring leaders and activists working with restorative practices and gang-involved individuals to disrupt youth incarceration and reform systems that disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ young...

The Philadelphia Tribune has named Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Board of Directors Chair Lynette M. Brown-Sow one of 2020’s Most Influential African Americans. Brown-Sow will accept the honor in a virtual ceremony, Thursday,...

A virtual presentation will highlight how restorative practices, gang-involved individuals, and innovative readiness programs are disrupting youth incarceration and reforming systems that disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ young people. The presenters are four social...

On Sept. 30, 2020, Randall Sims, Regional Director, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., testified before the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force.  Governor Tom Wolf, State Supreme Court Justice Thomas G. Saylor, and General Assembly...

When 26-year-old Erica heard that proposed cuts by New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) will keep nearly one thousand youth from services that keep them out of placement, she took it personally....

Kiara, a 15-year-old Lebanon County, PA high school student, begins her sophomore semester with a new appreciation for her passion, gifts and talents. She's a participant in Lebanon County Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc.,...

About four years ago, Robin, a then 39-year-old Atlantic County, NJ single mother of nine children, found herself overwhelmed. “I was in a domestic relationship with a man who sold drugs and brought a lot...