"It is always a joy to be able to hear what’s lies deeper inside the minds of our youth through our conversations. There’s almost always some deep insight given that we can all walk away with to give us fresh perspective and to unburden ourselves from weight of what the world places on us.”
- Dennis Foster, Mentor
About
YEP is a program designed to help develop soft skills and leadership of youth in middle school and high school. It is a safe space to experience life through a different lens. We create and facilitate conversations around topics that directly affect the youth and the environment that they live in. We also provide experiences outside of their neighborhood to give them perspective that extends beyond what they currently see.
12
participants
2
social activities each month
History
YEP started in 2019 with the hopes of meeting the needs of mainly young men within our in school programming which later expanded to include young women as well. Many participants were originally referred to the program by school counselors to provide extracurricular support. YEP sought to create the emotional safe spaces to process personal and familial challenges that every person needs. Our aim is to be and create trusted connections as a community. When Covid-19 restricted access to continue programming in-school, we pivoted to after-school programming in our Humboldt Park location giving us the opportunity to establish deeper connections with our youth and their families, and to provide them with opportunities and resources beyond the scope of what we could in school. Currently we meet weekly in groups divided by gender, and combine once a month for a large group activity or field trip.
Tuesday & Thursday 4-6pm
Team
