YAP, Inc.The Neighborhood Advocate

At age 16, Shamarion has begun to recognize and appreciate his strengths – that he’s smart, respectful, cares about his mother, and is a great big brother to his siblings. Fulton County, Ga. Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Program Director Haasan Smith has been working with Shamarion, encouraging him, and connecting him with tools to nurture his strengths.

YAP is a national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C. that hires and trains culturally responsive Advocates, credible messengers, and behavioral health professionals to deliver community-based alternative-to-incarceration/placement, aftercare, diversion, and public safety services.

Shamarion said he landed in YAP after refusing to comply with his principal following a school fight and other incidents where he was making decisions that got him into trouble. He credits Smith for helping him navigate decisions and distractions.

“He helped me to mature and grow as a young man,” Shamarion said.

The Fulton County program is one of six YAP pilots launched in 2019 and 2020 that a Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University report found to be “extremely successful” in serving youth and families.

Smith invited Shamarion and his mother to share their story with members of the YAP Board of Directors during a recent meeting in Atlanta.

“Some people don’t have the right people to lead them and guide them to the right choices and he helped me with that,” Shamarion told the YAP Board members when sharing about his experience working with Smith. “Now, I feel like I’m better at making choices and thinking through some of the things I do. I’m not saying I’m perfect because I’m still growing, and I still making mistakes, but I’m better at how I carry myself.”

Shamarion aspires to be a successful real estate broker and music industry artist.

He’s a great kid who just needed to see and believe in his strengths,” Smith said. “I’m helping him figure that out and will be introducing him to people in the fields he’s interested in to provide some additional support and guidance.”

Learn more about YAP at YAPInc.org.

Harrisburg, Pa. – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Dauphin County Community Treatment Center (CTC) Director Craig Gittens connects with young people before their actions could lead to lifelong repercussions in adulthood. 

Many of the program participants CTC serves are inner city, gang affiliated, have minor drug and firearm charges, and some use marijuana to self-medicate from other issues they may be experiencing, according to Gittens. 

“I was working with grown men with issues with substance abuse, incarceration, abandonment and rejection from fathers,” Gittens said. “Now I get to work with youth so maybe we can stop the process before problems continue to grow, take root and create damage. The youth we work with think their biggest penalty is going back to jail but the biggest penalty is that they’re dead on a T-shirt.”

Headquartered in Harrisburg, YAP is a 49-year-old national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., that partners with youth justice, child welfare, and public safety systems to deliver community-based services as alternatives to incarceration and placement. YAP also uses its community-based wraparound services model as part of its  public safety  and violence interruption work. 

In an interview with theneighborhoodadvocate.org, Gittens, a father of six – four of whom are teenagers – said he has been drug and alcohol free for 1,586 days (and counting). A drug and alcohol counselor and public speaker, he has led YAP’s Dauphin County CTC since August 2023. CTC program participants are ages of 14-18. They attend the afterschool program where they are fed, get help with homework, participate in recreational activities, complete chores, and receive treatment and training tools to equip them to make better decisions.

“In order to teach kids how to kill their demons, you must first kill your own,” Gittens said. “One of my youth has had three of his friends die. You have to know what the struggle is and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a background of violence. If you come in there perfect, they don’t want to deal with you. I share that I have done things, spent time in jail, but I don’t always share the substance abuse part because for a lot of them they haven’t had major drug abuse issues.”

A Bronx, N.Y., native, Gittens has lived in Boston and Atlanta but eventually put roots in Harrisburg where as a little kid, he attended Bible Camp. He said although he had it rough growing up, his family sustained him, saying he grew up in a different era compared to today.

“It was a horrible time, but our family unit was so strong that I was protected. It was still a strong sense of community and I think that is what is different now,” Gittens said, adding that he grew up in poverty and in the projects. “It may be that parenting or the legal system has failed young people nowadays; but we are doing what we can to help step in and fill those voids. A lot of them fall into that false narrative that gangs are a family, but it has dire consequences.”

Gittens said he didn’t know anything about YAP before he noticed the job opening, read the mission of the organization and applied.

“We have a great community here as far as the people that I work with,” Gittens said. “I work with a great group of people. There are easier ways to make the money we pay them. The people here are here for a purpose.”

In December, Gittens received the 2023 Dauphin County Male Recovery Champion of the Year Award from the Dauphin County Commissioners in recognition of his efforts to support those who are fighting to make positive changes in their lives.

“Craig is the real deal,” said Central PA Regional Director Bob Swanson. “He brings passion in supporting our youth, day after day.”

Gittens speaks at schools and works with organizations to help reduce the stigma with substance abuse disorder.

“Kids are not going to do what you say because you tell them,” he said. “It’s based on relationships and trustworthiness and that is what we do. Some people just want to incarcerate our youth, but YAP is an alternative to youth incarceration and we have to invest in our children and plant seeds. We may never see the seeds develop, but we plant seeds of hope, trust and values.”

Gittens dedicates his work to his mother Thealo Gittens who passed away two years ago of pancreatic cancer.

“She prayed for me for two decades to get my life together,” he added. “I dedicate what I do to my mom.”

For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org or follow the agency on X, formerly Twitter,  @YAPInc.

Roanoke, Va. – Program participants of Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Roanoke received holiday toys and essential items, thanks to the generosity of the Eta Lambda Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at Virginia Tech University.

About 10 members of the fraternity brought gifts and other needed items and donated them to YAP Roanoke youth on Dec. 15 ahead of the holiday season.

“On behalf of YAP Roanoke I just want to thank the members of the Eta Lambda Chapter of Omega Psi Phi for collaborating with our program,” said YAP Roanoke Program Director Breyon Fraction. “We are grateful for the support and dedication of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity members and look forward to future collaborations that will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of those we serve. We are blessed to have young men in our community making an impact and building relationships with organizations like YAP.”

A national nonprofit in 35 states and the District of Columbia, YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, education, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based services as more effective and equitable alternatives to youth incarceration and residential care. YAP also partners with public safety systems to implement neighborhood anti-violence initiatives.

YAP Roanoke’s youth justice program participants are provided with neighborhood-based Advocates who support their families with economic, emotional and education wraparound support. The Roanoke program also has a behavioral health program where youth are supported with intensive-therapy.

“The collaboration not only reflects our shared commitment to uplifting the youth and families in Roanoke, but also signifies the power of community partnerships,” said Fraction, who has been a member of Omega Psi Phi for 25 years. “Each Omega chapter administers internationally mandated programs annually, aligning seamlessly with the work Roanoke YAP does in the community. These programs, which include voter registration, illiteracy programs, mentoring programs, and support for charitable organizations, mirror the YAP mission of advocating for and actively serving the community.”

The students worked alongside Fraction, YAP Roanoke Assistant Director Tasha Saul, and YAP Advocate Jamie Tarnacki to ensure that program participants received basic needs items.

“By partnering with Youth Advocate Programs this winter, we were able to fellowship and bring joy to the children of the New River Valley area,” said Eta Lambda Chapter President Michael Roberts.

For more information, visit yapinc.org or follow the agency on X, formerly Twitter, at YAPInc.

Chicago, Ill. – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. hosted a Thanksgiving Sneaker Ball that allowed its Back to Our Future program participants and their families to dress up and enjoy an evening of elegance they may not otherwise have been able to experience.

“It was beautiful; it was so amazing,” said YAP Back to Our Future Program Director Monique Crisp. It was a time for us to engage with the program participants and their families into the Thanksgiving season.”

Launched a year ago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS)’ Back to Our Future gives Chicago residents ages 12-20 who have dropped out of or otherwise disengaged from school a safe system of support to continue their education. YAP, a 48-year-old national nonprofit in 35 states and the District of Columbia, partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, education, and other systems to provide alternatives to incarceration and residential placement.

Crisp said preparing for the ball provided valuable teachable moments that might have come more organically during high school milestones that program participants missed when they were away from school.

“Since we’re always dressed down, it was nice to have them put on some formal clothes and teach them the etiquette of how to dress nicer and because some of the have been out of school for six months to two years, they haven’t been able to attend a homecoming or a prom,” Crisp added.

The Thanksgiving Sneaker Ball took place on Nov. 16 with nearly 125 program participants and their families in attendance, in addition to approximately 50 Chicago area YAP staff including Back to Our Future Program Director Colby Chapman.

“We wanted to see youth in their formal wear,” Chapman said. “We invited them and their parents to come out of the south loop of Chicago, so we’re getting folks out of their neighborhood to enjoy the downtown landscape and scenery. We really provided them with a night of edutainment (education and entertainment) and bringing a holistic approach to overall youth moral and development.”

Several youth have made great strides through the Back to Our Future program, YAP staff said, including those who thanked YAP and their Advocates who encouraged them to choose positive paths.

“Another young lady said before she started with Youth Advocate Programs and received an Advocate, she didn’t know what love was but now we became the family and the love she didn’t have,” Crisp added. “I am just so excited about this program.”

Crisp and Chapman hope the Thanksgiving Sneaker Ball will be an annual affair. The event also included a catered dinner, a 360 photo booth, decorations and a DJ.

“Back to Our Future has been a great opportunity to give back to our future,” Crisp said. “Due to some of the barriers our youth may have come across, we’ve been able to show them a different way of looking at things.”

For more information on YAP visit yapinc.org or follow the organization on X at @YAPInc.

Chicago, Ill. — Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc’s Chicago Washington Heights Violence Interruption team members added Thanksgiving turkeys to the many services they provide to make the neighborhood they serve safer. The Washington Heights YAP team partnered with Project Simeon 2000, Illinois State Rep. Justin Slaughter, and Chicago 21^st Ward Alderman Ronnie Mosley for a Nov. 18 Holiday Turkey Giveaway, distributing 560 Thanksgiving turkeys to families in need.

“With the holidays fast approaching, we understand that some families may not have the necessary means to purchase a turkey, so we wanted to help take away the burden of having to worry about that,” said YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program Director Ken Lewis. “We want to thank our partners for their willingness to come together with YAP to make a positive impact in our community this holiday season.”

YAP, a national nonprofit in 35 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, residential care, and neighborhood violence. The YAP Chicago Washington Heights Violence Interruption program, funded through a grant from the Chicago Department of Public Health, provides violence interruption services, street and hospital outreach, crisis intervention, peace building activities, family engagement, individual wraparound services, and conflict resolution.

YAP program participants served by the neighborhood street outreach and violence reduction program distributed the turkeys to their neighbors as program staff connected with residents to offer economic, educational, and emotional tools they may need, consistent with their approach to reducing community violence.

The YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption team members and their partners distributed the remaining 40 turkeys from their Holiday Giveaway to local first responders, police, the fire department, and the elderly. Chicago YAP’s Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program had additional help for their Holiday Giveaway project from members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. and The P.O.E.T. Organization.

For more information about YAP, visit: www.YAPInc.org or follow the organization on X at @YAPInc.

Los Angeles – At age 18, Kevin’s best memories of his childhood were before his 14^th birthday. He played and was good at just about every sport. One of his biggest fans and best friends was his grandfather, a jack of many trades, whom Kevin deeply admired and loved.

Kevin said at age 13, everything good about his life changed. His grandfather died and Kevin was confused and angry. He started skipping school and with charges related to fighting and destroying property, he found himself before a juvenile court judge more times than he can count.

Kevin said it wasn’t until he was 16 that he gave any thought to his circumstances, let alone his future. The change came through Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., a national nonprofit that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and residential placements.

“I was on probation and wasn’t going home most nights,” Kevin said. “I kept missing court dates.”

Now in 35 states and Washington, D.C., by 2020, YAP had begun partnering with a Los Angeles community organization to serve County Superior Court system-involved youth.

“He was a kid and didn’t understand the seriousness of missing court dates and other appointments associated with his probation,” said Reggie Cooper, the Advocate YAP assigned to work with Kevin and his family.

YAP’s evidence-based model is centered in delivering culturally and linguistically responsive services by hiring neighborhood-based Advocates and mobile behavioral health professionals trained in empowering young people with tools to see and nurture their strengths. YAP employees connect program participants and their parents, guardians, and other families with resources to meet their individualized economic, educational, emotional, and basic needs.

Reggie advocated for Kevin, showing up alongside his mom in court. Kevin would later learn that like himself, Reggie was also caught up in the youth justice system during his adolescence shortly after losing his grandfather.

Two years later, Kevin said he’s an entirely different person. “I’m responsible and think before I act now,” he said.

Reggie agrees saying that in addition to going to school, Kevin shows up on time at his job at a food chain and is enrolling in a program that trains young people in construction trades. When Kevin looks at his future now, things are clearer than ever.

“I’m going to work in construction,” he said. Smiling, he added, “like my grandfather.”

Learn more about YAP and how you can support the organization at www.yapinc.org. You can follow the nonprofit on X at twitter.com/YAPInc.

Roanoke, Va. – After eight months, three staff from Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Roanoke Valley, Va., completed certification in professional development and youth violence prevention training from the Flourish Agenda.

Program Director Breyon Fraction, Therapist Ashley Schutrum and Senior Advocate Megan Doyle received Flourish Agenda’s Healing Centered Engagement certification. The Flourish Agenda is a national nonprofit consulting firm that works with youth-serving organizations and other agencies striving to allow young people to flourish; and the certification is an online course for those who work with minority youth. The certification provides attendees with training scenarios, learning activities, supplemental learning resources and more according to the website.

“We’ve been focusing on strengthening the support and infrastructure for frontline workers and community stakeholders serving youth violence prevention initiatives,” said Fraction. “We have other activities planned with the city as well.”

YAP is a national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public safety systems to deliver unique evidence-based youth and family wraparound services in homes, schools, and other community sites as an alternative to youth incarceration and residential care. YAP also partners with cities across the U.S. to use its model as part of their public safety strategy to curb neighborhood violence.

YAP Roanoke has a youth justice program where young people are provided with a neighborhood-based Advocate who supports their families with economic, emotional and education wraparound support; along with a behavioral health program where youth are supported with intensive-therapy.

The training was made possible through a $25,000 Gun Violence Funding grant awarded by the City of Roanoke’s American Rescue Plan Act Funds. YAP staff were among a cohort of people who started the training in March and completed it in October. The Flourish Agenda was founded by Professor Shawn Ginwright, Ph.D., who is the Jerome T. Murphy Professor of the Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“We are now working on a comprehensive strategy to engage the community with city officials,” Fraction added. “YAP’s dedication to making Roanoke safer and the city’s commitment to youth development is important as we embark on this journey together.”

Visit the YAP website or follow the organization on X at @YAPInc for more information.

See additional photo albums below. (Photos courtesy Keystone Productions)

Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent N. Schiraldi and Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López joined Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. to honor youth and adults making positive change. Schiraldi and López were among those recognized by YAP at its Washington, D.C.-Maryland region Oct. 13 YAP’s Making Social Change Happen Awards at Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

The program honored current and former justice-involved youth and adults, and other YAP program participants identified as at the highest risk for engaging in violence and those empowering them with tools to make positive change.

“if you go back to the 90’s they were calling young people super predators and the antidote to dehumanizing young people is humanizing young people and that’s where YAP stands out,” Secretary Schiraldi said. “You’ve always treated young people in your care as human beings and as long as you keep that as your standard you can’t go wrong so thank you for honoring me but I honor you right back.”

A 48-year-old national nonprofit in 35 states and Washington, D.C., YAP partners with youth justice, child welfare, and public safety systems to deliver community-based alternatives to incarceration and placement, and community violence interruption/neighborhood safety services. YAP has experienced considerable growth in recent years as communities have demanded more effective, economical, and equitable systems reforms.

“What is clear to me as I learned more about these award recipients is how relentless they are how relentless each of you are in dedicating your time your talent and your love to lift up our children, youth, families and communities across this country,” Secretary López said. “I’m the son and grandson of migrant farm workers and one of the people I most admire who advocated for social change on behalf of migrant farm workers was the activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez once said, ‘Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read; you cannot humiliate the person who feels pride; you cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.’ I think I’m among people who aren’t afraid.”

YAP CEO and President Gary Ivory welcomed the honorees and guests, including YAP Board of Directors Treasurer Clarence Campbell, Cities United Executive Director Anthony Smith, and other Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C. community leaders.

“I believe you all have decided that Baltimore and D.C. can be better than what it is and we’re going to work hard to make that happen, so I just appreciate you all I love you all and I think these kind of celebrations are what we need more of because the work we do is hard,” Smith said. “I appreciate the folks who do the frontline work who get up every day and put themselves in harm’s way to make sure somebody else can be safe so thank you all and thank you YAP for your leadership.”

Honorees included recipients of the YAP Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education scholarship, funded with YAP employee donations to ease the financial burden of college and workforce training/development for current and former program participants and their parents and guardians. YAP also recognized Baltimore Group Violence Reduction Strategy Deputy Director Terence Nash, Baltimore Group Violence Reduction Strategy Service Partnership Manager Raymond Greene-Joyner, Danise Jones Dorsey, Tonia Johnson, Maryland State Delegate Roxanne Prettyman and other community leaders who empower and support YAP’s program participants.  The program included a panel discussion moderated by DJS Director of Special Projects Richard Burton, featuring Diamond and Andre’, two former YAP program participants who credited the program for empowering them with skills to launch their own businesses.

YAP has systems partners across the region, serving Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (community-based alternatives to youth incarceration), City of Baltimore Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GRVS), YAP Safely Home: Community Based Mentor Services for Returning Adult Citizens, and statewide county child welfare departments.

YAP Advocates, Credible Messengers and Life Coaches connect program participants and their families with individualized educational, economic, and emotional tools to address their individualized needs. YAP services are led by participants and their families, and implemented by culturally responsive, neighborhood-based staff.

Service is available 24/7 with crisis management, transportation, and basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, utility bills) assistance. YAP’s guiding principles include partnering with parents, guardians, and other loved ones; focusing on program participants’ strengths; neither rejecting referrals, nor ejecting participants; working as a team; delivering community-based services with unconditional caring; empowering participants with tools to succeed and give back; and delivering programs with YAP model fidelity.

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, 90% of the youth still lived in their communities with less than 5% of participants in secure placement.

Learn more about YAP at YAPInc.org.