WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“Y Roads is an intense learning experience that helps students like me find our way and get ahead. I set new goals and got training. The Y showed me how to find scholarships and financial aid to go to college. Thanks to the Y, now I study business and marketing at Bronx Community College where my educational expenses are covered. Without the Y, I would be doing nothing but frantically looking for any kind of low-paying job. Now I’m on a path toward a career with a purpose.” – Curtis Harris, Y Roads Center Bronx
“I actually got my identity back, in terms of who I was, who I thought I was, and who I was supposed to be. But getting involved in Y Roads gave me that confidence and identity back. Everything started to flow after that. So for that I am thankful.” - Keon Clarke, Y Roads Center Jamaica
“The program has really helped me develop. It has given me confidence in myself, and the motivation to wake up every morning to get going. It’s made me want to learn more about the world, about politics and the economy.” - Dhankumri Deokaran (Vashti), Y Roads Center Jamaica
OUR PARTNERS
The Y partners with Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow and the Department of Education’s Pathways to Graduation to provide the job training, academic support and counseling needed to build stable lives and careers for the young people we serve.
OUR IMPACT Since their inception in 2013, Y Roads Centers have served over 800 opportunity youth, with a completion rate of 80%. In the 2014-2015 school year, between September and June, a total of 471 individuals received services from our Jamaica, Queens and Bronx Y Roads Centers. Y Roads was evaluated by the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research and Owen Consulting Group. The evaluation came back with promising results declaring that Y Roads is an effective work-force readiness program and a positive intervention for opportunity youth.
Y Roads: DEFINING A PATH TO SUCCESS Every young person in New York City should have the tools to achieve self-sufficiency. Through sites in Jamaica, Queens, The Bronx, East New York, and Bushwick, Brooklyn, Y Roads helps connect New Yorkers aged 16–24 who are neither in school nor employed with the job training, academic support and counseling needed to build stable lives and careers.
OUR SERVICES AT A GLANCE
OVERALL, ABOUT 15% OF YOUTH IN THE NYC METRO AREA ARE OPPORTUNITY YOUTH. Opportunity youth are people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working
350,000 young people in NYC are neither working nor in school.
East New York is faced with an opportunity youth population of
25%.
The percentage of opportunity youth across neighborhoods in NYC ranges from
3.7% to 35.6%. Y Roads Centers are strategically located in neighborhoods with the most need.
South Bronx has the highest rate of opportunity youth
35.6%. 63% of all youth crime in the city is committed by opportunity youth.
HSE Prep
WHY WE INTERVENE Y Roads found that 100% of prospective participants came to the program looking for a job or employment assistance. For many prospective participants, finding employment is difficult because they lack a high school diploma or HSE. Struggles with school and employment are frequently accompanied by other barriers – 89% of Y Roads applicants report mental health symptoms and nearly one third have previously been arrested. College Prep
HOW WE HELP Y Roads creates pathways to success by offering valuable training courses to help young people gain the skills and experience they need to succeed in today’s marketplace. Out-of-School Youth (OSY)
17% of youth in Jamaica are neither working nor employed.
Out-of-School Youth, or OSY, provides services to help youth ages 17–24 upgrade their job skills and find permanent work. The program offers occupational skills training in many industries, including construction, food service, tourism, healthcare, and retail, as well as assistance with job and college placement, HSE preparation and support services. Participants also receive 12 months of follow-up services after completing the program.
Workforce Readiness
Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)
Y ROADS LOCATIONS
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Y Roads Bronx: 332 East 149th Street, 7th Floor Bronx, NY 10451
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Y Roads Jamaica Queens: 161-04 Jamaica Avenue Jamaica, NY 11432-6112
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Y Roads Literacy Center - East New York 60 Williams Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207
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Y Roads Literacy Center – Eastern District 125 Humboldt Street Brooklyn, NY 11206
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A POPULATION IN NEED
43%
of participants have a history of arrest
16%
are on probation
39%
use drugs or alcohol
32%
report a physical illness
24.5%
The Young Adult Internship Program, or YAIP, provides job-ready 16–24 year-old young adults who are not working and not in school, placement into a short-term internship opportunity. Funded through the Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity, the program offers 14 weeks of paid orientation, training and work followed by 9 months of follow-up services and assistance for placement in permanent jobs, training programs and educational opportunities.
Counseling
YouthBuild YouthBuild, a workforce development program, provides at-risk youth between the ages of 17–24 the opportunity to earn their High School Equivalency diploma while learning valuable vocational skills. A cohort of approximately 35 of the City’s youth who are neither in school nor employed choose from four vocational training tracks: construction, building and facilities management, youth development training, and sports and fitness. ECHOES ECHOES is an alternative-to-placement program that connects participants to paid externships and an adult trained in life coaching. Participants are probation clients who are 14 years and older, have been adjudicated through Family Court, and are at risk of being sent to placement. Participants look to ECHOES for a new opportunity to increase their social and emotional competencies and employability.
Child Care
report a psychiatric diagnosis
Housing
MDRC, Building Better Programs for Disconnected Youth (02/2013). http://www.mdrc.org/publication/building-better-programs-disconnected-youth | 2 Measure of America. Youth Disconnection in NYC (9/2012) http://www.measureofamerica.org/one-in-seven | 3 MDRC, Building Better Programs for Disconnected Youth (02/2013). http://www.mdrc.org/publication/building-better-programs-disconnected-youth | 4 Measure of America. Youth Disconnection in NYC (9/2012) http://www.measureofamerica.org/one-in-seven 1