2016 Y Roads Factsheet

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 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 IMPACTSince 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.

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

Y Roads: DEFINING A PATH TO SUCCESS

1 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

Housing

HSE Prep

College Prep

Workforce Readiness

Counseling

Child Care

OUR SERVICES AT A GLANCE

HOW WE HELPY 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)

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.

Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP)

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.

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.

WHY WE INTERVENEY 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.

Y ROADS LOCATIONS

43%of participants have a history of arrest

16 % are on probation

39% use drugs or alcohol

32% report a physical illness

24.5% report a psychiatric diagnosis

A POPULATION IN NEED

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.

South Bronx has the highest rate of opportunity youth

35.6%.

63% of all youth crime in the city

is committed by opportunity youth.

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.

17% of youth in Jamaica are

neither working nor employed.

East New York is faced with an opportunity youth population of

25%.

Y Roads Bronx: 332 East 149th Street, 7th Floor Bronx, NY 10451

Y Roads Jamaica Queens: 161-04 Jamaica Avenue Jamaica, NY 11432-6112

Y Roads Literacy Center - East New York 60 Williams Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207

Y Roads Literacy Center – Eastern District 125 Humboldt Street Brooklyn, NY 11206

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