CITY YOUTH NOW

City Youth Now serves more than 1,200 youth in San Francisco’s foster care and juvenile justice systems on an annual basis. The majority of them come from extremely challenged backgrounds and have experienced severe and complex trauma, family and neighborhood violence, parental incarceration, housing and food insecurity, mental health conditions, and problems with personal and/or family substance abuse. Many live neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage—Bayview/Hunter’s Point, the Mission District, the Fillmore District, the Tenderloin District, and Visitacion Valley— with the highest rates of crime and neglect, and the largest populations of low-income communities and communities of color.

YPEE’s internship program is a key component of CYN’s mission to provide programs and services that promote stability, personal growth, and long-term success for system-involved youth. CYN staff also continuously create new professional development workshops to train youth in crucial workforce-readiness skills. Our most recent addition is a Financial Literacy workshop, which provides youth with the opportunity to develop skills for creating, maintaining and implementing a budget. Youth are taught to read basic financial documents and skills to successfully manage money. This past spring break, we took youth on probation on tours of local colleges, including University of San Francisco, Laney College, and Cal State East Bay. We were also excited to host additional youth interns this summer as part of Mayor London Breed’s Opportunities for All Initiative.

The Personal Empowerment Program supports the holistic development of vulnerable youth by fulfilling critical social service, health, and personal development needs that are not otherwise covered by traditional funding sources. Throughout the year, CYN sponsors summer camps, theater classes, and sports team membership fees; provides emergency clothing and groceries; helps youth obtain eyeglasses and tend to other miscellaneous medical needs; and supports youth in obtaining documents like birth certificates. Youth and their foster care/probation advocates know that CYN can accommodate youths’ individual needs, whether it be an art class to help socialize with peers, a gym membership to cope with stress, or furniture for their first apartment

CYN’s Inside-Out Program provides academic, recreational, and therapeutic activities to youth housed in the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC). Activities include academic tutoring from college students and community members; musical performances, basketball games and other social activities; a family holiday brunch; special meals for Black History Month; and a Zoomobile and Insect Discovery Lab to give youth a chance to interact with animals. We invite representatives from City College of San Francisco, Skyline College, and other local colleges and universities to talk to the youth about the admissions process. CYN also collaborates with the JJC staff on a tutoring program for detained youth taking online college coursework.

For 69 years, City Youth Now has been working to provide programs and services that promote stability, personal growth, and academic and career success for youth in the San Francisco Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems. Our support extends beyond Juvenile Hall to serve youth in group homes, in extended foster care for 18-22-year-old youth, and in kinship care (care of foster youth by relatives), as well as in the community. CYN has been a key partner in San Francisco's success in drastically reducing youth held in detention and has provided immediate tangible and comforting resources for children, youth and families when a child is removed from their home.

City Youth Now is headquartered in the Juvenile Justice Center and has direct relationships with probation officers and case workers tied to the Juvenile Probation Department and the Community Assessment & Referral Center. CYN also has direct connection to the Young Adult Court and judges, which helps us to expedite outreach to youth.

Through our Youth Partnering for Education and Employment (YPEE) program, CYN provides educational and employment support to at-risk youth in the form of paid internships, college/vocational scholarships, and other resources to address the needs of individual youth such as interview clothing, exam fees, and transportation to school. We are continuously creating new professional development workshops to train our youth in crucial workforce-readiness skills. Our most recent addition is a Financial Literacy workshop, which will give youth the hands-on opportunity to learn to manage finances successfully. Over the recent spring break, we led three groups of youth, on probation, on tours of local colleges, including University of San Francisco, Laney College, and Cal State East Bay. We are also excited to share that we hosted additional youth interns this summer as part of Mayor London Breed’s Opportunities for All Initiative.
Through our Personal Empowerment Program (PEP), we have continued to support the holistic development of vulnerable youth by fulfilling critical social service, health, and personal development needs that are not otherwise covered by traditional funding sources. During the 2018 holiday season, CYN provided gifts to over 380 children and adolescents receiving services through the Human Services Agency, the Juvenile Probation Department, Family Treatment Court, and other organizations. We also hosted our fourth annual holiday party for youth on probation and their families, which had the largest attendance yet. We have continued to help youth in times of crisis, by providing clothing to youth who have misplaced their belongings in different group homes, or emergency groceries to young adults experiencing financial hardship. Youth and their foster care/probation advocates know that CYN can accommodate youths’ individual needs, whether it be art class to help socialize with peers, a gym membership to cope with stress, or furniture for their first apartment.
The youth housed at Juvenile Hall have continued to take part in the recreational, academic, and therapeutic activities within our Inside-Out Program. This spring, we hosted the Zoomobile and the Insect Discovery Lab in the Juvenile Justice Center. The youth enjoyed asking questions about the animals and about careers in zoology and science. In the fall, we invited representatives from City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Skyline College to talk to the youth about the admissions process. Lastly, last semester, three detained youth were enrolled in online City College of San Francisco courses, and CYN provided each of them with a tutor to support them in their coursework and keep them on track.