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Davenport, IA — A special Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. luncheon recognized the accomplishments of formerly justice-involved Quad Cities youth and those once identified as being at the greatest risk for violence engagement.
The event, which took place Saturday, May 16, at The Lincoln Resource Center, was an opportunity for YAP®’s government, philanthropic, and community partners to engage with young people who have benefited from their support of the nonprofit’s work.
Davenport YAP® Advocate David Hines led a panel discussion with former program participants, J’Ciana, Fletcher, and Brennan. The young people also received achievement awards for reaching milestones established in their individualized service plans. Brennan, 15, who served as the event’s featured speaker, said he hesitated to share his story, but that based on how much Hines, who served as his YAP® Advocate, did for him, “I couldn’t say ‘no,’” he said.
“I was 13 when I started making the kinds of decisions that got me locked up,” Brennan said. “At the time, I was a desperate, scared and very hungry boy.”
He told the audience he and his younger brother spent their childhood bouncing from relative to relative, whom he described as having “their own adult problems.”
“So as an adolescent, I had a lot of things to worry about. Things like where am I going to sleep? Where am I going to eat? What do I have to do to survive? Will I be safe?” And so yes, I did what most of you believe you’d never do. I stole food and sometimes money. And I ended up locked up.”
YAP® is a 50-year-old national nonprofit in 31 states and Washington, D.C. that brought its unique family-based, accountability-focused services to Davenport in 2023. The nonprofit partners with youth justice, child welfare, education, mental health, and other public systems to deliver its community-based services as a safer, more-effective alternative to placing youth in trouble or crisis in corrections and residential treatment facilities. YAP® also partners with public safety and school systems to apply principles of its evidence-based individual and family “wraparound services” approach to reduce violence.YAP® Iowa Program Director Michael A. Cole said Quad Cities youth are referred to the nonprofit by county and state youth justice systems and Davenport public schools.
“Sustaining and expanding its Quad Cities reach requires government referral partnerships, philanthropic and corporate funding, and continued community collaborations,” Cole said.
Brennan said he had to remain at the detention facility when he completed his time there because he had nowhere to go. He said things began to change in a positive direction when YAP® Advocate David Hines showed up.
“David worked with the social workers to find an adult in my family, willing to take me in. And then when my cousin Jeremy stepped up, David showed up for him, too,” Brennan said. “So today, I’m happy to say that I’m part of a family. I am seeing my strengths. And I’m getting even stronger. I know I’m a smart, mouthy kid who is going places. And thanks to David and Jeremy and YAP® and the foundation I’m building from everything I’ve been through, there’s no stopping me.”
Backed by donor funding, 71 Davenport youth and their parents/guardians have benefitted from YAP®’s intensive youth and family wraparound services.
“Today is a tribute to Quad Cities residents who as youths faced complex challenges and are now working to turn their lives around,” said YAP® Chief Program Officer David Williams. “Your presence here this afternoon means you are committed to being a part of a community that strengthens lives and makes communities safer.”
The nonprofit’s community-based Advocates and mental health professionals are trained to help young people identify and nurture their strengths. Staff simultaneously connect the youth and their parents or guardians with individualized educational, economic, and emotional needs tools to firm their family foundation. Davenport program participants benefit from the nonprofit’s YAP Pursuing Excellence® model, which combines YAP® wraparound services with specialized psychotherapy for adolescents exposed to chronic stress (SPARCS), a form of cognitive behavioral therapy.
“Our services are family-led and accountability-focused,” Williams said.
Community leaders and partners who support YAP’s work who were recognized at the event include:
- Tracy Singleton, Lincoln Resource Center Executive Director Rev. Rogers Kirk, Jr., President and CEO of Together Making a Better Community — TMBC
- Shirleen Martin, representing Davenport NAACP Metrocom Branch President Michael Guster
- Kennon Neal and Jason Otten with Unity Point Center for Alcohol and Drug Services
- Rodney Tatum and Machelle Pemberton, YAP’s Davenport Peace, Juvenile Court School liaisons
- Matt McDowell, who provided mentorship opportunities for young people including asking them to read to summer camp participants here at the Lincoln Resource Center
- Avery Pearl, Assistant Director at the Lincoln Resource Center
- Cherie Henningsen and Nina Laughlin, Unity Point Robert Young Mental Health
Cole and his team also recognized Yolanda Jefferson at Blck Pearl Catering; Kayla Babers with KB Photography; and Morgan Payne with 1814 Event Services.
Among the luncheon attendees were Grinnell College’s VP for Community Engagement and Strategic Planning Monica Chavez-Silva. Monica, who recently joined YAP’s national board of directors. National YAP leaders joining the Quad Cities community leaders included, YAP Chief Program Officer Dave Williams, Chief Operations Officer Joanne Troutman, Vice President of Philanthropy Greg Hollback, Regional Vice President Jamaal Crawford; and Regional Director E’Ron Leveston. In addition to Cole and Hines, YAP Iowa staffers at the event included Alicia Berry Morgan, LaToya Lewis, and Shanda Burrage.
About Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc.: Founded by Tom Jeffers in 1975, YAP collaborates with community and public systems backed by philanthropic funders to deliver four signature programs: Youth and Family Empowerment, Bringing Systems Change, Global Capacity Building, and Investing in Economic Mobility. 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. Learn more about YAP and how you can support the national nonprofit’s work at YAPInc.org.
