Harris County, Texas – Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP™) Southwest Behavioral Health Regional Director Naomi Chargois shared how the agency is unique in offering competent, community-based, and unconditional care services to youth and their families during a panel discussion at the Health Access and Equity Symposium held in Houston, Texas in May.
“I discussed how YAP works with families in marginalized communities who have lived experiences of being misdiagnosed, mistreated, and misunderstood when seeking mental health services,” Chargois said. “It is not only important to address the unique mental health needs of individuals of all backgrounds, but that it should be a priority. We all have a role in promoting health equity.”
Hosted by the Houston Health Department, the Symposium brought together local leaders and behavioral health professionals who share a commonality in addressing access to health. Chargois spoke during the Access and Equity Symposium and was a panelist on the Youth and Mental Health session focusing on cultural competency.
YAP Southwest Behavioral Health Regional Director Naomi Chargois.
A national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., YAP, delivers community-based wraparound and mental health services as an alternative to residential care, youth incarceration, group homes and other placements. YAP provides rehabilitative and behavioral health services to young people and their families that are strength-based and connect them to individualized tools that firm the family foundation by addressing their complex economic, educational and emotional challenges so that program participants are successful once services end.
“I shared why mental health care is stigmatized in some communities and how YAP’s core principles make youth and families feel safe, understood, and supported,” Chargois said, adding, “YAP makes every effort to remove any barriers that would interfere with people having access to mental health care.”
Berks County, Pa. – Eighteen-year-old MaKayla’s job as a summer camp counselor gives her a chance to encourage and support kids as they participate in gym, art class, canoeing, and other activities. Her interactions with young people and co-workers are also helping her work through communication challenges like stuttering when she feels anxious.
The YAP OVR program, now in its fourth year, has placed more than 280 young people with disabilities or who face other employment barriers — those in rural communities, and/or have been justice system involved — in paid work experiences across Pennsylvania this season.
MaKayla playing with youth in the pool at her summer job as a camp counselor.
In 35 states and Washington, D.C., YAP is the nation’s leading nonprofit provider of community-based services that reduce the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration and residential placements. The young people YAP serves are referred through youth justice, child welfare, developmental disabilities, education, and other public systems. YAP empowers program participants by helping them see their strengths and connecting them and their families with individualized tools to meet their economic, educational, and emotional goals.
“You don’t know that you can achieve something until you are actually exposed to it and actually try. It’s about youth being able to socialize in a different setting, efficiently communicate, and mostly – it’s about flexibility,” said Perez, who worked at YAP while in college.
The employment program started in June and runs through August.
“OVR is a hidden gem,” said Natasha Huertas, YAP Berks County, Pa., Administrative Manager and OVR Employment Instructor. “They pay for transportation to and from work, they help with obtaining a driver’s license, and assistive technology. OVR helps lead to independence to work.”
Natasha Huertas, YAP Berks County, Pa., Administrative Manager.
As the unique summer jobs program has expanded, it has extended its reach to nonprofit employment partners.
“We’re teaching them skills, but they’re also learning by working in these other nonprofit agencies,” YAP Berks County, Pa. Program Director Amy Schermerhorn said. “The nonprofits are helping YAP out by letting our staff and kids go work there, but, on the flip side, that organization is also doing great work in helping people in the community. To have YAP program participants gain skills from other nonprofits is a win-win situation. I find YAP’s collaboration with OVR to provide this service to students in Berks County so beneficial in so many fundamental ways.”
YAP Berks County, Pa. Program Director Amy Schermerhorn.
YAP Berks County, Pa. has 15 program participants ages 16-21, accompanied by four YAP staff participating in OVR this summer at the Olivet Boys & Girls Club, Hope Rescue Mission, and the LGBT Center of Greater Reading.
“I really think it’s important because this program gives people in our community a chance to get out there and learn a job skill that can be so beneficial to them in so many ways,” Schermerhorn said. “To me it feels like we’re giving back to the community because we’re working with other nonprofits in a positive way.”
MaKayla is one of four YAP Berks County, Pa. program participants working at the Olivet Boys & Girls Club.
“I enjoy hanging with the kids, learning new things about them, and being there,” MaKayla said. “They enjoy me being around them too.”
YAP Employment Specialist Lenny Stinson is at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club with program participants and says they are all learning how to socialize and shake off any fears they have about being in a work environment. Stinson, who believes in all the youth he works with, said MaKayla is the most outspoken participant, adding that she is “phenomenal.”
YAP Employment Specialist Lenny Stinson.
“She is really outgoing and is doing well,” Stinson said. “I just find it a rewarding challenge for these young people knowing that they will be able to face life outside in the workforce.They all have potential and I believe in their potential. With their developmental disabilities – that they have, they have challenges communicating with their peers, but they are here and are being more open in expressing themselves,” he added.
MaKayla, who learned masonry while in high school, graduated in June and plans to take this summer’s work experience to find a job at a construction company.
“I graduated knowing how to do brick laying,” she said. “That is my biggest career goal, to learn different things and to be successful.”
In addition to Berks County, YAP has placed program participants in jobs with employers in other counties throughout the Commonwealth including Adams, Bradford, Carbon, Crawford, Delaware, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, and York.
“It’s about being able to pivot, adjust, and still be successful. There are so many different things that they’re learning,” Perez said.
OVR programs are supported by U.S. Department of Education. A total of $144,731,271 or 78.7% is financed with federal funds. The remaining 21.3%, including additional matching fund costs ($39,171,233) is funded by state appropriations and other non-federal allowable sources.
Antwerp, Belgium – Worldwide leaders from 36 countries heard the story of a former Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™), Inc. violence interruption program participant who received resources that helped put his life on a positive trajectory thanks to the agency’s community violence interruption (CVI) work. The presentation was part of the 2024 European Social Services Conference (ESSC) held June 26-28.
Located in 35 states and Washington, D.C., with partnerships in Australia, Guatemala, Ireland and Sierra Leone, YAP delivers community-based services as alternatives to incarceration and placing young people in detention/residential care. The organization partners with juvenile justice, child welfare, and behavioral health entities. In recent years, YAP has also partnered with local public safety systems using its community-based model as part of services to reduce violence among individuals who have been identified as being at the highest risk.
YAP Delaware Program Director Omar Douglas, and National Director of Community-Based Safety Initiatives Fred Fogg presenting at the European Social Services Conference (ESSC) .
In sharing the success of a YAP program participant he worked with, Douglas said that once in trouble with the law, the Delaware youth lost his foster home placement and was victimized by gun violence. However, with the help of the organization’s unique wraparound or YAPWrap™services, the young man received from 2021-2023, he graduated from high school, gained employment, and has not reoffended since completing the program.
“He [the former program participant] continues to communicate with me on a weekly basis,” said Douglas, an ESSC 2024 Bursary Fund recipient. “He now works with one of our community partners who distributes free air conditioners to low-income residents as an installer, delivering and inserting the units.”
YAP National Director of Community-Based Safety Initiatives Fred Fogg presents during the European Social Services Conference (ESSC).
YAP’s community-based Advocates and violence interrupters/credible messengers help mediate conflict, prevent escalation, and provide services to participants and their families who help address needs like housing, employment, or behavioral health services.
“Congratulations to Omar and Fred for representing YAP community-based safety initiatives and Peggy for representing YAP Ireland for the great work and the well-received presentation in Antwerp,” Matteson said. “Most of all, thank you to our Delaware program participant for entrusting the YAP team with his story so we could take delegates from Malta, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Iceland, Sweden, Belgium, and other countries on a storytelling journey to understand YAP’s work and the impact that can be made on an individual, family, and community when we co-create in a strength-based partnership.”
YAP Delaware Program Director Omar Douglas, YAP Director of International Programs and Development Diana Matteson and National Director of Community-Based Safety Initiatives Fred Fogg in Antwerp, Belgium at the European Social Services Conference (ESSC) .
Nearly 700 delegates worked together for 4 days in Antwerp to debate, dialogue, teach, and challenge each other to make systems, services, and policies more equitable, efficient, effective, and informed by those who use them.
“YAP is proud to have a national and international footprint in partnering with agencies, foundations and individuals who share a common goal to provide community-based services that offer alternatives to out-of-home placements and make neighborhoods safer,” said YAP CEO and President Gary Ivory. “We strive to empower young people and their families to see their strengths while connecting them with the emotional, educational and economical tools they need in order to thrive.”
Chicago, IL — For John, life after prison has been sweet in many ways.
While incarcerated, he earned his GED and stayed out of trouble, reducing his 11-year attempted murder sentence to nine years plus two in a work release program.
“That day the warden came to my cell and told me I would be starting my work release program, I cried,” John said.
It meant he would move from prison to a halfway house and then be with his family on the weekends.
“I could leave for work Monday through Friday and Friday evenings through Monday mornings, I could be at home with my sister.”
The work release job was at a candy factory, where he was allowed to have all his favorites, including chocolate bars he hadn’t had since he went to prison at age 22. More important, the opportunity gave him valuable experience on the assembly line and training as a forklift operator.
The first-time conviction separated John from his now 15-year-old daughter and his sister and her two children. He said their frequent visits and letters held him down while locked up and that the support he gets from them now is giving him the second chance he needs. John credits Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™), Inc. for providing comprehensive wraparound services to him and his family to aid in the transition.
In its pre-50th anniversary year, YAP delivers community-based services as alternatives to incarcerating or placing young people in detention or other residential justice, child welfare, and behavioral health facilities. In recent years, YAP has used its community-based model as part of services to reduce violence among individuals like John — those identified as being at the highest risk of engaging in violence.
“People released from prison are among those at the highest risk of quickly falling back into the life that got them there,” said YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program Director Ken Lewis. “It takes a lot to help them get used to being back in society.”
John with-YAP Program Coordinator Deonte Dixon (l) and YAP Program Director-Ken Lewis (r)
John was still completing his work release requirements when he learned about the YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption program from one of its program coordinators, Deonte Dixon, who also worked at his halfway house. A part-time factory co-worker who serves as a YAP program coordinator recruited and enrolled him. Funded through a grant from the Chicago Department of Public Health, the program provides violence interruption services, street and hospital outreach, crisis intervention, peace building activities, family engagement, individual wraparound services, and conflict resolution.
In serving program participants, the YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption program staff apply core principles of YAPWrap™, the national nonprofit’s alternative-to-youth-incarceration evidence-based youth justice model. They help individuals identify their strengths and connect them and their families with individualized economic, educational, and emotional tools they need to nurture them.
Among the team’s tools are service projects like a community garden, where program participants work side-by-side with their neighbors, building relationships and trust, while making fresh vegetables available to their families.
“Two weeks after being connected to YAP, I was doing a pop-up shop in Brainerd Park where nonprofits came to the neighborhood to promote their services. There was free barbeque, and we gave bookbags and school supplies to the kids,” John said. “I always wanted to give back to my community.”
John said he was touched to see other men like him, those who were formerly incarcerated or otherwise identified as being at the highest risk for violence engagement, bringing joy to their neighbors. He was also in awe of the commitment from Lewis and the other YAP program staff.
“To see that everybody cares for kids, and seeing how Ken operates — how he really gets involved, it was like, dang, I cried that day, too,” he said.
In addition to connecting him with community service opportunities, John’s YAP Violence Interruption staff enrolled John in financial literacy and anger management classes and connected him with opportunities to share his story to inspire young people to learn from his mistakes.
“John is a hard worker who always showed up for the projects,” Lewis said. “In fact, during one of the financial literacy workshops, he followed up with one of the presenters who he has now partnered with to start a landscaping business.”
“With the resources YAP provided and because I had no issues on my home passes and that I passed all my drug tests,” John said, adding, “I was able to fully return home, ending the work release program and the halfway house early,” John said.
John said the sweetest part of being back home is that he’s now able to give back to his family.
“My daughter is doing great. She just graduated from middle school,” he said. “My nephew is doing amazing in school and as an athlete. it feels good to be able to be a support to him.”
John is grateful that the YAP connection has provided opportunities for him to also support other young people, especially those who remind himself of the young man he used to be.
“I was able to share my story with some kids at my old high school, to and talk about my life,” he said. “A lot of them, their dads were locked up. One was a 14-year-old who had constantly been in and out of police custody. He was addicted to drugs, mostly smoking weed. He didn’t want to deal with the pain.”
As part of the service project, John was able to meet regularly with the youth.
“I helped him by telling him my story and showing him that there’s better things he can do with his time; I told him you have people who love you. I came up to the school; talked to his teacher; talked to his grandma; doing things like that, John said. “Now he’s on a whole better road. Next year he’ll be a junior. His grades improved and I know I helped him make a change in his life.”
Meantime, John is committed to making the changes necessary to put his life on a positive track, including working part-time and spending several hours a day lining up customers for his landscaping business.
“We have 20 contracts to cut people’s grass and we’ll be working on getting business for snow removal in the winter,” he said.
Lewis said about 60 percent of the high-risk individuals he and his team recruit for services stay in the program. Of those who accept services, most are employed or enrolled in educational and vocational programs after completing the YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption program.
Learn more about YAP and how you can support the nonprofit’s work at www.YAPInc.org.
Maribel looks at her 15-year-old son, Ivan, and feels hopeful for his future. In a new YouTube ad, she thinks back to a year ago when he got expelled after a fight at school.
“My son, Ivan. He used to be so depressed and kept acting out. I was overwhelmed. I didn’t want him sent away, but I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “Then I heard about Youth Advocate Programs – YAP.”
A national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., YAP, delivers community-based wraparound and mental health services as an alternative to residential care, youth incarceration, group homes and other placements.
YAP is expanding its mobile mental health services in communities across Texas, including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and surrounding areas. The nonprofit serves Medicaid-eligible young people, ages 3-20, in schools and other community sites, but mostly in their homes. A new YAP digital ad campaign, which includes English- and Spanish-language YouTube and other social media advertisements, speaks directly to parents and professionals looking for culturally and linguistically responsive mental health services for young people.
Ivan with his mom, Maribel
Maribel learned about YAP from the alternative school Ivan attended after his fight. YAP paired him with Jenny Carrillo, a mental health professional who in part, chose to work at YAP because of the nonprofit’s core principles, which include unconditional community-based care, supporting young people and their families, and cultural and linguistic responsiveness. Many of the young people Carrillo serves are like her, first-generation Americans.
“Due to a language barrier, I saw my parents struggle — that impacts how I provide services to this community,” Carrillo said.
With parents who are learning to speak English, she said it matters that she is fluent in Spanish and that YAP comes to them.
Carrillo said it didn’t take long for Maribel to warm up to her. But for Ivan, it took some time.
“When I first met him, he was hostile; he wouldn’t talk, he had a lot of anger.”
Ivan agrees.
“I didn’t want to get close to her. I didn’t want to like her,” he said.
Carrillo came to Ivan’s home weekly where she got to know him and empowered him with tools he needed to make behavioral changes. She helped him see his strengths, that he’s kind, cares about his family, has many interests, and is proud of his Mexican American heritage.
At the same time, Carrillo worked with Maribel, giving her tools to support her son.
Ivan with his mom, Maribel and YAP Mental Health Professional Jennifer Carrillo
In the YouTube ad, Maribel says, “She not only helped my son, she helped me, too.”
Carrillo said Ivan began getting positive reports from school. She said he also improved his relationships with his family — and with her as well.
“He changed a lot. Now he opens the door for me; he’s polite,” she said.
With the improvements in his behavior, Ivan was accepted into a Catholic High School. Ivan recalls Carrillo being there with his family to help him celebrate.
“She came to my jacket ceremony,” Ivan said with a big smile.
“With the new school; I had to change a lot about myself,” he said. “I’m a lot more quiet.”
Ivan said he’s focusing on his grades, paying closer attention in class, “and not zoning out. I’m asking questions so it sticks in my head.”
He said his favorite subjects are world history and theology and that his favorite Bible verse is Mark 10:27, adding, “With God, all things are possible.”
To learn more about YAP’s services or job openings for mental health professionals and other staff, please contact YAPInc.org.
Texas families and others in the state looking for information about the nonprofit’s mental health services can learn more at yapinc.org/TexasMentalhealth.
Somerset County, Pa. – For the past three years Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™) Behavioral Health Technician Sherri Snyder has worked with Ethan for 15 hours every week to help him improve his communication skills with his peers, friends and family.
“He has come a long way,” Snyder said. “Ethan has been staying out of trouble at school and is working on what is proper.”
YAP is a national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., providing trauma-informed services reducing the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration, residential care, and group home foster placements. YAP partners with public systems to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to out-of-home placement.
Ethan, who is on the autism spectrum, is a participant of YAP Somerset County’s Intellectual Disabilities program offered through the organization’s behavioral health staff who support, listen, and encourage young people.
“If I never started with YAP, things would have been different,” Ethan said. “It’s a work in progress but things are going well.”
Ethan, 22, was 17 when he began working with YAP. Through the help of Snyder and other YAP therapeutic support employees, he earned an associate degree in liberal arts from Penn Highlands Community College in western Pennsylvania where his favorite classes centered around topics including history, government, and pop culture.
“Without them I wouldn’t have had anybody to help me,” Ethan said about YAP staff and Snyder whom he refers to as “Miss Sherri.”
With graduation behind him, Ethan is currently looking for a remote job to help pay back his student loan. Throughout his matriculation, he found tuition support through the YAP Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education, a one-year award that as a YAP program participant, he was able to apply for and receive for four consecutive years.
Ethan at his graduation ceremony at Penn Highlands Community College.
“This program has been very wonderful over the years,” Ethan wrote in his scholarship application essay. “I am very thankful [for this scholarship that] helped me for my last year.”
Named after YAP’s founder, the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund is mostly funded by employee donations and scholarships are provided to eligible current and former program participants with $1,200 for college tuition, job training/supplies fees, or a laptop computer. Participants may apply on an annual calendar basis.
When applying for the scholarship, Ethan wrote that his goals and aspirations were to finish college to then use his diploma for a better career in the future; in addition to making good choices and decisions.
“I benefited from the program because it helped me make it through my semester each year in order to get a better education,” Ethan said. “It helped me receive more knowledge and learning skills for my future job down the road.”
Ethan said being involved with YAP has benefited his life for the better.
“YAP has helped me,” he said. “We’re working on a lot of goals. There has been some stressful moments, but I’ve worked through them.”
Snyder, who has been with YAP for the past 15 years, says working with young people like Ethan and seeing them accomplish their goals is what kept her at the agency this long.
“I love my job,” she added. “I enjoy working with Ethan. We do connect well; he can confide in me and we work through things.”
Las Vegas, Nev. – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™), Inc. of Clark County hosted a “Black and White Affair” for young adults who have been involved in the youth justice system or may have otherwise missed the prom and are working to turn their lives around.
YAP is a national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., that provides trauma-informed services reducing the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration, residential care, and group home foster placements. YAP partners with public systems to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to out-of-home placement. YAP Clark County program participants are referred through the court system and provided with neighborhood-based Advocates who connect them and their families to economic, educational and emotional tools to help set them up for success.
The “Black and White Affair” was YAP Clark County’s third annual prom for justice-involved youth, and was held on Friday, May 17 for current and former program participants to enjoy an evening of dressing in formal attire and having a good time with their peers. Prom attendees are either in school or finishing their education through nontraditional avenues. Some of the youths referred to YAP may have experienced some forms of trauma or violence. Program participants Neveah was crowned prom queen and Emmanuel was named prom king.
YAP Clark County, Nev. Assistant Director Eleazar Martinez and Advocate Krishinda Mclendon.
“I’m elated that we were able to host the prom again this year for our program participants and staff who have spent so many hours connecting young people to resources that helps put their lives on a positive track,” said YAP Clark County Program Director Neosha Smith. “It provided an opportunity for youth to attend an event they may have otherwise missed. We love supporting our young people, who through our services, understand trauma and accountability, while having opportunities to see and nurture their strengths.”
Guided by the nonprofit’s “no-reject, no-eject” policy, YAP’s decades of service include working with many young people whose histories include serious offenses, multiple arrests, and lengthy out-of-home placements. John Jay College of Criminal Justice research found 86% of YAP’s youth justice participants remain arrest-free, and six – 12 months after completing the program, nearly 90% of the youth still lived in their communities with less than 5% of participants in secure placement.
Chicago – Youth Advocate Programs, (YAP™), Inc. Washington Heights Violence Interruption team cleaned up, planted and pruned flowers, replaced mulch, and tilled soil at Chicago’s Euclid Park in honor of Earth Day in April.
All photos taken by YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program Director Ken Lewis.
Funded through a grant from the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), the YAP Chicago Washington Heights Violence Interruption program provides violence interruption services, street and hospital outreach, crisis intervention, peace building activities, family engagement, individual wraparound services, and conflict resolution. Like the individuals they serve, many of the team members are formerly justice involved.
“As someone who lives and works in this community, I know that keeping it clean is an important part of keeping it safe,” said YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program Director, Ken Lewis. “The Earth Day event was the perfect opportunity for our program participants and staff to roll up their sleeves by connecting with like-minded individuals and doing something positive.”
YAP, a national nonprofit in 36 states and Washington, D.C., partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based wraparound services as an alternative to youth incarceration and residential care; and is also used to help cities curb neighborhood violence.
The Chicago event was hosted with support from Chicago 21st Ward Alderman Ronnie Mosley and Chicago Fifth Third Bank.
Referred to as street outreach Advocates, members of the YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption team help diffuse situations. The team also connects residents to economic, educational, and emotional tools to help put their lives on a positive course, which contributes to neighborhood violence reduction.
In the past, the Washington Heights Violence Interruption team cleaned up a vacant lot and planted flowers, collard greens, cabbage, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red and green bell peppers, along with jalapeno and habanero peppers. Lewis said the team plans to refurbish another Chicago space this summer.
Fort Worth, Texas – Julia says she has blossomed since becoming a participant with Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™), Inc. in Tarrant County, Texas about five years ago. YAP is a national nonprofit in 36 states and Washington, D.C. offering community-based youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and neighborhood violence prevention alternatives.
“YAP has benefited me in more ways than I can count,” she said. “Before, I used to only talk to people in my immediate little bubble, so this has opened up my circle of connections.”
YAP Tarrant County has youth justice and behavioral health programs which Julia was a part of. An alternative to youth incarceration, group home placement or residential care, the YAP youth justice program provides participants with a neighborhood-based Advocate and the nonprofit’s behavioral health program provides intensive-therapy to youth. Both services provide wraparound support and resources to young people and their families to help set them up for success.
YAP Tarrant County Qualified Mental Health Professional Sherry Freeman was paired with Julia, providing her with tools to tackle personal obstacles standing in the way of her road to college and change the trajectory of her life.
“Julia has demonstrated tremendous effort and growth throughout the years,” Freeman said. “Her positive attitude and striving to be the best are strong qualities of Julia’s.”
Through Julia’s determination and with Freeman’s help, she is now enrolled in college taking online courses. Thanks to the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education, which is funded partially by YAP employees, Julia was able to obtain a laptop to assist her in furthering her studies.
“This scholarship will take the weight off of paying for classes and materials that I will need,” Julia, 20, wrote in her Endowment essay. “I won’t worry about missing out on opportunities because I was unable to pay for it.”
Named after YAP’s founder, Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund scholarships are provided to eligible current and former program participants in the form of $1,200 for college tuition or job training/supplies fees, or a laptop computer.
“I want to meet new people and obtain new skills,” Julia wrote about attending college. “I want to overcome any obstacles that are in my way and live a happy fulfilling life. I want to give back to the people who have helped me when I needed it the most.”
Freeman said Julia, who is now a freshman at Tarrant County College, has put in a lot of work and grown over the years, adding that she is an eloquent writer and draws beautifully.
“Julia is known for her positive attitude and desire to be the greatest,” Freeman said. “Her perseverance has helped with her time management.”
Beyond attending college to learn, Julia said she hopes to find her purpose.
“I still have a long way to go, but this program has given me the help and confidence that I needed to move forward,” she added.
Roanoke, Va.– At age 15, Brooklyn was referred to Youth Advocate Programs (YAP™), Inc. after being released from a residential care facility and placed in foster care. She was hurt, depressed and acting out.
“I still remember the day my Advocate Shaneka Bynum did an intake assessment on me,” Brooklyn recalled. “I was certain there was nothing YAP could do for me. I was very reluctant to open up to anybody, as everyone had already walked out of my life. It did not take long for Shaneka and me to click. If somebody were to ask me if I had angels in my life, Shaneka would always be one of my answers.”
YAP Roanoke provides youth justice services where young people are provided with a neighborhood-based Advocate who supports their families with individualized economic, emotional and education wraparound tools; and behavioral health services where youth are supported with intensive-therapy. YAP is a national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C. that reduces the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration, residential care, and group home foster placements. YAP partners with public systems to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to out-of-home placement.
Brooklyn says Bynum was a dependable adult and a constant in her life who never left her. Eight years after Brooklyn’s discharge from YAP, the two still keep in touch. Today Brooklyn is a 23 -year-old mother and student at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Va., majoring in healthcare administration. Since age 19, she has worked in a hospital as a nursing assistant in the neuro-trauma progressive care unit. Bynum, who now serves as YAP National Director of Employee and Program Development, encouraged Brooklyn to apply for the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education and she was awarded $1,000 toward her tuition.
“Receiving this scholarship is a blessing,” Brooklyn said. “It allows me to continue to work and better myself without having to worry about paying for my college classes.”
Named after YAP’s founder, the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund is mostly funded by employee donations and scholarships are provided to eligible current and former program participants with now up to $1,200 for college tuition, job training/supplies fees, or a laptop computer. Current and former YAP program participants can reapply for the scholarship on an annual calendar basis.
Brooklyn and her daughter Sophia.
“Brooklyn is passionate about her career choice,” Bynum said. “I’ve known Brooklyn for almost a decade, and she has always been one of the brightest young women I have had the pleasure of working with. She enjoys supporting others and it makes sense why she has chosen her career path.”
YAP staff encouraged Brooklyn, and taught her coping skills, how to love herself, be a responsible adult, build healthy relationships, and how to set boundaries. YAP also provided her with parenting skills.
“Through all the twists and turns in my life, Shaneka and the YAP team were by my side,” Brooklyn said. “Even when I did not feel like I was doing my best, I still had their support. My childhood and teenage years were some of the hardest of my life. I truly could not have gotten through my teenage years without YAP.”
Brooklyn’s goal is to earn her bachelor’s degree, and to continue to be a great role model for her daughter, providing her she said, with everything she didn’t have as a child.
To support youth like Brooklyn or for more information on YAP visit yapinc.org.
