YAP, Inc.The Neighborhood Advocate

Submitted by Jorge Retamar

YAP Orange County, NY Project Rise Program Director

Orange County, NY – Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. Orange County’s Project RISE  (Reinvest, Inspire, Support and Empower) Program was honored as a Community Partner through the Newburgh Enlarged City School District‘s 2nd Annual Newburgh Free Academy (NFA) West Campus High School Mentor Recognition event in early June.

“It was an honor to accept the Community Partnership Recognition Award on behalf of Project RISE by Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.,” said YAP Project Rise Program Director Jorge Retamar. “As the program director, I’m incredibly proud to represent a team of passionate, dedicated individuals who serve the youth of Newburgh with purpose and heart every single day.”

Celebrating 50 years in 2025, YAP® is a national nonprofit that partners with public systems in 33 states and Washington, D.C. to provide community-based and behavioral health services as an alternative to placing young people in trouble or crisis in corrections and residential care facilities. 

YAP® Project RISE is a community-based program funded by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) that works to empower youth ages 14-25 who are involved in the justice system—or at risk of becoming involved—by helping them build brighter, more hopeful futures. Through behavioral health sessions, SPARCS (Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress), and YAPWrap®, the organization’s wraparound services neighborhood-based Credible Messengers, meet each young person where they are, and surround them with individualized support designed to address their unique needs—whether it’s education, employment, mental health, housing, or family dynamics.

“At the heart of our program are our credible messengers—individuals with lived experience who serve as Advocates and role models,” Retamar added. “Their presence helps create genuine, trusting relationships that foster accountability and transformation.”

Through YAP®’s core “no eject, no reject” policy, Retamar said credible messengers do not give up on youth, adding, that no matter how many setbacks they face, “we remain by their side. We believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to grow, heal, and thrive—without being pushed out or written off.”

“This recognition from the Newburgh Board of Education means so much to us,” Retamar added. “It represents a shared vision for our community—one where every young person has the opportunity to succeed, and where systems work together to uplift rather than punish. On behalf of the entire team at Project RISE by Youth Advocate Programs and DCJS, I thank you for this honor, for your partnership, and for believing in the potential of our youth, we will keep showing what’s possible when we put community first and never give up on our young people.”

For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.

Charlotte, NC – All photos from Shot By ChrissyB

Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP®), Inc. Youth Justice and Alternatives to Violence (ATV) teams – Beatties Ford Road and West Boulevard – hosted a free community Sneaker Ball on June 8 to raise awareness of gun violence prevention and connect with program participants, their families, and neighbors.

Held in June to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Month, the Sneaker Ball gave community members an opportunity to enjoy music, food, mingling and dancing –  all while several community members and organizations were recognized for their support and partnership. YAP ATV and the Youth Justice Programs help detect and interrupt violence and support individuals who are at the greatest risk of engaging in violence by connecting them to educational, emotional and economic tools that provide practical life choice alternatives.

YAP® became the city’s first ATV partner with the Beatties Ford Road site in 2021 as part of a partnership with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, using Cure Violence Global (CVG) methods working with individuals who are at the highest risk of engaging in violence. YAP®’s Mecklenburg County Juvenile Justice Program has partnered with the court system since 2019 – where through referrals – program participants are matched with a neighborhood-based YAP Advocate who champions for them and their families.

Celebrating 50 years in 2025, YAP® is a national nonprofit that partners with public systems in 33 states and Washington, D.C. to provide community-based and behavioral health services as an alternative to placing young people in trouble or crisis in corrections and residential care facilities. 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 youth served still lived in their communities with less than 5% of participants in secure placement.  

Honorees included:

YAP Mecklenburg County Youth Justice Program Advocates and YAP ATV Violence Interrupters and Outreach Workers

West Charlotte High School

Block Love Charlotte

Inlivian Housing Authority

For the Struggle

Diversified Performance Training

Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association

Traletta Banks

Kim Alexander of Our Daily Bread

Alternatives to Violence – Nations Ford Road Team

Dr. Raquishela Stewart, Deputy Director, City of Charlotte’s Housing and Neighborhood Services

Chad Martin, Youth Program Manager, City of Charlotte’s Housing and Neighborhood Services.

For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.

See video interview below with Michael Umpierre, Director of the Center for Youth Justice at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, formerly the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. The Center for Youth Justice is the preeminent data and training resource for practitioners and policy makers implementing and advocating for innovative tools to help communities provide more effective and lower cost alternatives to placing youth in trouble or crisis in correctional and other residential facilities. Umpierre will moderate the 50th anniversary YAP® Making Change Happen Summit’s “Justice Reform” panel discussion Nov. 6, 2025, in Philadelphia, PA. 

Cook County, Ill. – Sixteen-year-old Charles was one of 36 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students who graduated in April from Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc., Chicago’s YAPWORX® employment readiness program. YAPWORX® is a unique paid workforce development curriculum designed to equip systems-involved and other young people facing employment barriers with job readiness skills.

“We met every Tuesday for 10 weeks to talk about things like mental health, how to do a resume, and all of that,” Charles said. “It was all about the essentials of being an (adult). Just knowing what we need to know in order to be independent.”

Celebrating its 50th year in 2025, YAP® partners with public systems in 33 states and Washington, D.C. to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to placing young people in trouble or crisis in corrections and residential care facilities. The national nonprofit also uses its unique youth and family wraparound services model to help cities reduce violence among those at the greatest risk. YAP® Advocates are trained to help program participants and their parents, guardians and other family members see and nurture their strengths while connecting them with individualized resources and support.

YAPWORX® engages volunteer business owners, leaders and employees from various fields to educate program participants about their work and provide mentoring and social capital. Through a partnership with Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Student Support & Engagement, YAP® Chicago delivered YAPWORX® services to Charles and his classmates from February through April for two hours once a week. Program participants received a $75 weekly paycheck paid through YAP.

Charles was referred to YAP® last year through the court system when he landed on probation from a gun charge. He was assigned to YAP® Advocates Marie Tribett and Patricia Jackson. Jackson described Charles as “shut off, closed and not talkative,” when they initially met.

“He was a little standoffish at first and I had to break the ice,” Jackson said. “He really doesn’t open up to everyone, but over the course of a year he’s grown a lot with communicating more.”

A high school junior, Charles took a while before letting Jackson gain his trust. She helped Charles with his schoolwork and assisted him in getting his identification card. Jackson said they also take walks together, go to gaming centers, go fishing and that Jackson took him out to eat at Olive Garden for the first time.

“Just to see him have joy and smile while doing something different warms my heart,” she said. “He’s really a respectful young man. He is family-oriented and he loves his [9] siblings.

During his time in YAPWORX, Jackson taught Charles to use his money responsibly. For example, she got him in the habit of purchasing his Pace Pass (bus payment card) first to get to-and-from school before he did anything else.

“While in YAPWORX, I would take him to cash his check. I taught him that when he gets paid to take care of his needs first, then take care of his wants second,” Jackson said. “It was teaching him responsibility. He definitely grew in that area.”

Chicago YAP Advocates took turns providing YAPWORX lessons to the group of program participants. In addition to topics that included emotional wellbeing and resumes; other topics included entrepreneurship and how to dress properly for a job interview.

“Charles loved YAPWORX,” Jackson said. “He wanted to participate because it kept him busy.”

Before YAP and Jackson, Charles said he kept to himself but now he is able to be himself, is more independent and stays away from anything that might put him in the wrong predicament.

“Right now, he is in a good place with the courts, parole office, with school, and his family. He’s doing so good right now,” Jackson said, adding that Charles is getting better with being on time for school and engaging more with his teachers. “His grades are getting better. He still needs work in that area, but they are improving.”

Jackson said if she had to describe Charles in one word it would be “honest.” As for Charles, he now doesn’t feel the need to be out and about as much as he would have been before YAP and he reaches out to his Advocate three or four times a week to update her on how he is doing in school, family life or if he needs anything in general.

“I love that lady,” Charles said of Jackson. “She most definitely ‘be coming through.’ She makes sure I am straight.”

Charles is expected to be discharged from the program in November.

“I really believe in giving kids a second chance. I have seen growth and change in families,” Jackson said. “I am proud to be [Charles’] Advocate, slash [second] momma.”

For more information on YAP®, visit yapinc.org.

Charlotte, NC – Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP®), Inc. Alternatives to Violence (ATV) West Boulevard team transformed a little used west Charlotte apartment complex community center to meet the practical needs of its residents.

The overhauled Little Rock Apartments’ community resource center provides residents with a community closet, bike rentals and a reading corner where children and parents can gather, study, use a computer, meet with the team, check out books and even take the GED exam.

“This gives us an opportunity to promote pre-intervention,” said YAP ATV West Boulevard Site Supervisor Anthony Davis who grew up in Little Rock Apartments. “If we can get to the kids before violence actually happens, it makes a difference. Our community closet and all of our activities that we encompass are part of the intervention process.”

YAP ATV is a partnership with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County using Cure Violence methods and is supported by the generosity of the GreenLight Fund. Charlotte’s first ATV partner, YAP now serves two of the city’s three sites, the Beatties Ford Road Corridor and West Boulevard. YAP ATV provides intensive services for young people ages 14 to 25 who have been identified by schools, community groups, the youth justice system and other referring partners, as being at the highest risk of being engaged in violence. Risk factors include group violence involvement or affiliation, being recently released from prison, or experiencing the loss of a loved one due to gun violence.

Celebrating its 50th year in 2025, YAP® is a national nonprofit that partners with public systems in 33 states and Washington, D.C., to provide community-based individual and family wraparound services as an alternative to placing youth in trouble or crisis in correctional or residential care facilities. In addition to providing alternative-to-youth incarceration services in Mecklenburg County, YAP combines its evidence-based wraparound services with the Cure Violence intervention approach in its ATV work. The YAP ATV teams detect and interrupt violence, identify those at high-risk for engaging in violence, and mobilize community change. YAP ATV employees are hired from the communities they serve and often share similar backgrounds.

When the YAP ATV West Boulevard team is not out canvassing in their catchment area; they can be found at the Little Rock Apartments’ Community Resource Center at 5712 Leake St. The Community Closet opened in March and allows residents to receive men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, toys, household items, and canned foods among other basic needs items at no cost from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. every other Friday. Donations are provided through churches, other local organizations and from individuals.

“This was a community center when I lived here,” said YAP ATV Program Manager Donnell Gardner. “We started meeting a lot of people and they were telling us about the things they needed, so we wanted to bring this to the community. We’re from here, so we know a lot of their needs.”

YAP ATV West Boulevard Outreach Worker Yulonda Johnson keeps track of who’s receiving items and limits clothing to two items per person. The Community Closet is open to YAP ATV program participants from both the nonprofit’s West Boulevard and Beatties Ford Road sites.

“This helps boost the morale of the residents,” Johnson said. “We built this store up. Initially we only had enough items to fill the tables, but now we have a little corner boutique.”

If a resident has an emergency need, such as diapers for their baby, Johnson said the team will make exceptions to get individuals what they need.

“We’re dealing with high-risk individuals but the Community Closet is an extension of the program,” Gardner said. “This was important for us to turn this into something.”

Additionally, every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m., children can rent out bikes to ride around the neighborhood for two hours. YAP ATV West Boulevard Violence Interrupter Shawn Moore came up with the idea to provide the service.

“We allocate time and bikes for kids who don’t have a bike,” Gardner said. “The kids get the bike for a couple of hours and then bring it back. We work on an honor system. We wanted to add this resource.”

Moore works on the donated bikes, and adjusts the seats for the children or fixes them up if required.

“The bike program is amazing,” Johnson said. “If the kids even think we’re in here, they will come to the door looking for us.”

On Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m., children and young adults can check out books, get help with reading, or use the computers to complete or study for their high school General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or certificate and apply for jobs.

“Residents can choose a book and take it with them to read,” Johnson said. “Sometimes program participants read books to the kids or a team member will read to a child.”

Johnson said children are rewarded if they read five or more books at the end of the month, which gets them excited about literacy.

“We keep data of what they’re reading in order to access their progress,” she added. “We even have young adults who have trouble reading and we’re here to support them and not embarrass them. We will read with them individually if they let us know they need help.”

Although the target age range for ATV program participants is adolescents to young adults, Johnson said all of initiatives at the Community Resource Center are part of pipeline to prevention.

“The YAP ATV team is here to help identify barriers and remove them,” Johnson added.  “That’s what we’re all about, helping to reduce violence by keeping young people engaged in other activities.”

In addition to Gardner and Davis, Moore, and YAP ATV Beatties Ford Road Site Supervisor Roosevelt Brooks, also grew up in Little Rock Apartments.

“Now we’re able to come back and we understand the wisdom that was given to us before when we used to come to the Community Resource Center,” Gardner added. “We’re able to reach back and it’s a beautiful thing. Inside there’s a happiness that words really can’t put in perspective.”

To donate books, bikes, clothing or other items to the Community Resource Center, email Gardner at dgardner@yapinc.org or Davis at andavis@yapinc.org. For more information on YAP visit yapinc.org.

Essex County, N.J. – Going to school late, acting out in class, and talking back to her mom led Najah to Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. in Essex County, N.J. when she was in the seventh grade.

“I was in middle school when I enrolled in the program because I was following the wrong people, but I wasn’t doing bad things,” Najah said. “I was acting out in school because I wasn’t accepted. I am 4 feet and 4 inches tall, and people would make fun of me and call me a midget. My parents were continually having to come to school for me.”

That was five years ago. Now Najah, 19, is finishing up her freshman year at Saint Elizabeth University College in Morristown, N.J.

“I don’t know where I would be without YAP,” she added. “I am doing amazing. I am in school and working a job.”

Celebrating its 50th year in 2025, YAP® partners with public systems to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to residential care. YAP® is a national nonprofit in 33 states and Washington, D.C., providing services that reduce the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration, residential care, group homes and other out-of-home placements.

Najah was part of YAP® ‘s Essex County Community-Based Diversion Program, which has since ended, but like the nonprofit’s existing youth justice program, provided her with a neighborhood-based Advocate.  YAP® Advocates are trained to deliver wraparound support to program participants and their parents, guardians and other family members. The evidence-based YAPWRAP® services model helps young people see and nurture their strengths and connects them and their families with individualized resources and support. The diversion program worked with low to medium-risk youth ages 13-17 who had begun to engage in antisocial and low-level delinquent pathways or formal involvement in the youth justice system. Program referrals came from parents and schools. 

Najah said her Advocate helped her do everything she could to succeed, helping her with schoolwork. Najah became an honor roll student in high school and is a recent recipient of the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund Scholarship for Continuing Education. She was awarded $1,200, applied to her school tuition. Eligible current and former program participants, along with their parents/guardians, can apply for the scholarship annually for tuition and fees assistance or a laptop computer.

“I let my wall down,” Najah said about working with her YAP Advocate. “I thought my parents were just being mean to me, sending me to work with a stranger, but that became someone that I really care about. I realized that I was taking advantage of my parents.”

In addition to being picked on at school, Najah says she was acting out because her sisters were older and not living at home anymore, leaving her lonely and bored. She is the youngest of her three siblings who are now 38 and 33. Najah’s parents worked long hours, so she sometimes ate dinner alone in the evenings but on Wednesdays she went to her local YAP office where she and other program participants heard from speakers each week who encouraged them. Her mom, a corrections officer, heard about the diversion program through Curtis Moore, who at the time was the program coordinator. Today Moore is the program director of YAP Essex County’s Youth Justice Program.

“Mr. Curtis would bring all of the youth together for focus groups and we would eat dinner and have conversations,” Najah said. “I love Mr. Curtis. He has a great impact on youth. Some days after school I was home by myself since my parents were working so I looked forward to those Wednesdays. At YAP we were all a family. There was tutoring and he would provide clothing if we needed it. We all looked out for one another. It touched my heart.”

Moore said he lives by a quote of the late W.E.B. Dubois when it comes to helping young people.

“’The gift of life is the Creator’s gift to us, but what we choose to do with our life is our gift to our Creator,’” Moore said quoting Dubois. “I choose to be a humble servant of my community and youth.”

Najah thanks her family for connecting her to YAP, along with Moore, her Advocate and all YAP staff for helping her in her pre-teen and teenage years.

“I want to thank the YAP program for their services to help save teens,” Najah said. “I’m glad I did all those bad things then because I know better now. I love YAP.”

For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.

Radio One/Reach Media Programming SVP speaks with TheNeighborhoodAdvocate.org‘s Kelly Williams, CMO/CCO at Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. about a time early in his radio career when he worked part-time as a neighborhood-based YAP Advocate. A national nonprofit, YAP delivers community-based services that give youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, education, public safety and other systems alternatives to placing young people who are in trouble or crisis in correctional and residential care facilities. 2025 marks YAP’s 50th anniversary.

Ulster County, NY – When Raymond Samuels was referred to Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc., he was having difficulty in school with his peers, but once he was paired with his Advocate, he says his life took an entirely different turn that has now come full circle.

“My Advocate helped me navigate through toxic, as well, as healthy relationships,” Samuels said. “He also taught me how to be myself, while still helping me build my confidence to where it felt normal to be outgoing and personable.”

YAP® is a national nonprofit in 33 states and Washington, D.C., providing services that reduce the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration, residential care, group homes and other out-of-home placements. Celebrating its 50th year in 2025, YAP® partners with public systems to provide community-based wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to residential care.

Samuels is a former YAP Ulster County, New York youth justice program participant. He has since graduated high school, enrolled in community college, became a YAP Advocate and has been promoted to administrative manager. YAP Ulster County provides justice and child welfare program to youth ages 11-22 with wraparound support known as YAPWRAP® in which they and their families are provided with resources and support.

“From participant to Advocate has been possibly the largest full circle moment of my life as of yet,” Samuels said. “As a former YAP participant, I have always capitalized on what the program has had to offer me.”

Additionally, eligible current and former program participants, along with their parents/guardians, can apply for the Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund Scholarship for Continuing Education, which provides $1,200 for tuition and fees or a laptop computer. Samuels now has a laptop thanks to the scholarship fund that will come in handy while attending Dutchess Community College where he is majoring in social work.

“My career goal has always been to help at-risk youth realize there is always a way to win the game regardless of the cards dealt,” said Samuels who grew up in foster care. “As I am still relatively young, I find myself constantly learning alongside the youth I work with; in addition to providing the advice I benefited from when I was in the program as well.”

YAP Ulster County Program Director Jenilee Pollan who has known Samuels for seven years, described him as “exceptionally gifted at making others feel comfortable and always maintaining a positive attitude.”

“Raymond is an individual who shows up earlier than asked, works hard, and carries himself in a polite, respectable manner,” Pollan added.

Samuels thanks YAP for supporting his educational goals and helping to turn his life around.

“To move from a terrible past, you must make a better one over time,” the 19 year-old added. “I do this by consistently reaching for the moon, because even when I fail, I tend to land somewhere among the stars.”

For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.