All Youth Programs
Summer Social Justice Institute, The Empower Fellowship, Action Committee, and YA-YA Squad
YA-YA SQAUD
The YA-YA Squad is a collective of young people who make up the general YA-YA Network membership. As a member, you gain access to monthly events and workshops, and you can attend and participate in various direct actions or advocacy calls throughout the year. For example, if YA-YA Network is seeking more members to provide testimony at a city council hearing to advocate for more funding for restorative justice, we will call on you, train you, and have you be a part of that effort.
YA-YA Squad offers a low-stakes way to be part of the community. Young folks who have participated in previous programs are automatically part of Squad.
The Empower Fellowship
Learn how to unpack identity, deconstruct implicit biases, and make space not only for yourself but others within and outside of your community. In this fellowship, youth ages (15-19) will engage in a variety of workshops rooted in popular education, with a specific focus on identity development, self-esteem and confidence-building, advocacy, allyship, and leadership training. Empower meets in-person weekly for 18 weeks.
Action Committee
Our core student activists fighting to abolish police and metal detectors in schools. Learn the fundamentals of organizing, improve your public speaking skills, participate in direct actions, and learn how to push for press coverage and policy recommendations that further our fight against the school-to-prison pipeline. AC members will receive a monthly stipend of $100.
Summer Social Justice Institute
The YA-YA Summer Institute is a radical learning experience founded in the belief that young people, in their collective power, will rise up and address issues impacting their communities. Through peer mentoring and popular education, we spend 7 weeks sharing empowerment and unlearning oppressive ideas and practices. We also visit community spaces around the city to witness revolutionary work in action and get involved in NYC activism. Youth emerge from Summer with basic skills in anti-oppression and activism. Most importantly, they join a community of youth activists to lead visions of change that transform their communities and world.