Charlotte, NC – Tay went from barely graduating high school and making unsafe choices outside of school to registering for college – thanks to support from Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP™), Inc.’s Alternatives to Violence (ATV) program.
“Since I started the program, I have been staying out of trouble and doing what is right,” 18-year-old Tay said. “It’s really helped me to be successful.”
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 and also works with cities to help reduce neighborhood violence. YAP oversees two of Charlotte’s three ATV sites launched by the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County using Cure Violence Global violence interruption methods. The YAP Beatties Ford Road team got started in 2021 and with the city and county’s expansion of the program, two years later, YAP also began managing the West Blvd./Remount Road ATV site.
YAP ATV members provide 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.
For the past eight months, Tay has been a program participant of the YAP ATV West Boulevard/Remount Road team, which has connected him to individualized economic, educational, and emotional tools that empower them to put his life on a positive path. The West Boulevard team connected with Tay at the Little Rock Apartments located in West Charlotte, where his brother was shot.
YAP ATV Outreach Worker Yulonda Johnson said she has seen a complete change in Tay since she began working with him.
“I am very proud of him,” Johnson said. “He just needed that extra support.”
YAP ATV Site Supervisor Donnell Gardner, who has known Tay since he was in second grade, has also seen the transformation.
“I’m proud of the young man he has become,” Gardner added. “He’s come a long way. He’s a good kid. I’ve kept up with him.”
Tay, who said his family has since moved from the apartment complex, said Johnson and the team helped him stay on track to graduate from Aspire High School and supported him as he made safer choices outside of school.
“He’s spending a lot less time in Little Rock. It’s one thing to move away but still always be out here,” Johnson said. “He has never been rude and rowdy, but now he is calmer and more relaxed.”
The Little Rock Apartments are located off West Boulevard, where the team canvases the neighborhood five days a week. In addition to delivering intensive services to individuals identified as being at the highest risk of violence engagement, ATV members mediate conflicts that might otherwise escalate and work to prevent retaliation.
“If you want to get out of trouble and get on a better path, then ATV is for you,” Tay said. “It has helped me a lot. They kept me on track to graduate from high school, gave me advice, and helped me [make safer choices].”
Johnson said the next step is helping Tay find a better paying job. Tay and the YAP ATV team plan to still keep in touch long after he’s left the program.
In July the ATV West Boulevard team engaged with 1,012 individuals/community members, made five referrals for program participants and distributed 708 public education materials.
For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.