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Youth Empowerment & Advocacy

(Y.E.A)

What is it?

Our Youth Empowerment & Advocacy program is an initiative to create positive and engaging spaces for young people to play, create, and grow alongside one another.

What do we do?

Through mentorship, mixed age activities, youth-led discussions, and vibrant community events, we give the youth safe opportunities to learn, explore, and develop into their best selves.

Our Story

As an inner-city teacher with a degree focused in Political Science, Race Relations, and Sociology, Daisha Calliet has both felt and studied the effects of inequality in all aspects of life, notably education. Her calling came at just 15 years old, leading her to share her time and poetry with youth in afterschool programs and juvenile detention centers.

Now, at 25, being relatable and putting love first has continued to help her to reach kids in her own classroom who feel discarded by the system and burdened by inequality. That approach is what the Y.E.A program is all about.

The untimely death of her 18 year old cousin, Otis, due to gun violence was her final catalyst to create the Y.E.A program, and he the guiding star for its future.

A picture of a young black man, smiling, wearing a track suit.

Otis "Lil' Otis" Hixon
February 7, 1995 - April 1, 2014

Meeting the needs of our community

Hope is not passive, it is active.
We create hope by pouring into our youth and striving to achieve the following:
Loving Environments

We will create loving, nurturing environments free of shame, inequality, and hatred. Healthy opportunities to learn, grow, and communicate will be abundant.

Career Development

Equipping young people with valuable skills will lead to success for all generations. Meeting new people or simply learning about a new career path can change the trajectory of someone's life.

Strong Mentorship and Self-Empowerment

We need each other now more than ever. True self-empowerment takes place alongside your community. Let's build these relationships now.

Quality Education

Our schools cannot be the only place where we learn. We will foster a love for learning that will carry our youth further than degrees can take them.

Whats Next?

We would love your help!
Click the button below to apply to volunteer with the Y.E.A program.
Volunteer Form