Resilience Advocacy Project
Arming Youth with the Tools They Need to Overcome Adversity
Every day in New York City, we see examples of youth without critical supports and life skills succumbing to the types of crises that can make poverty irreversible. In New York City last year alone, fewer than 50% of low-income teenagers graduated from high school on time; and in the City’s five poorest communities, close to 20% of all births were to teenage girls. Anti-poverty supports- such as free academic tutors, preventive health care, or job training programs -do exist. Unfortunately, most-low income youth lack the tools or the legal know-how to access them. Confusing bureaucracies and complicated program rules in the benefits system often disempower the children they were designed to support. So a homeless teen who, by City law, would be entitled to a free Metrocard, might not get one because he or she did not know she was entitled to one, or the process to obtain one was too confusing; as a result, 40% of homeless youth in New York City miss so many school days every year that they must repeat a grade.
Teaching Kids to Advocate for Themselves and Their Peers
The Resilience Advocacy Project grew out of founder Brooke Richie’s experience working with the Children’s Defense Fund, and seeing kids who, time and time again, were either not aware of or unable to access valuable anti-poverty resources and tools. Each year, RAP recruits about 20 kids from disadvantaged New York communities and puts them through a 12-week boot camp. Kids learn the basics of NYC government and youth’s legal rights, as well as problem-solving, critical thinking, goal setting, research and effective communication skills. Then the kids set up in community centers and libraries and give free legal advice to their peers—how former foster children can access their immunization records, for example, or how a homeless teen can apply for public housing. Peer advocates also conduct Self-Advocacy Training Workshops for other youth throughout the City, teaching teens about the core elements of self-advocacy and about how to apply those elements in concrete ways in their lives. Through this program, the Resilience Advocacy Project connects over 200 NYC low-income teens to empowering legal-rights information and anti-poverty resources each year.
By empowering kids to advocate for themselves and their peers, RAP’s program has exponential potential for expansion and bringing low-income teens out of poverty. That is why The Catalog for Giving selected RAP for inclusion its Sixth Edition, and is proud to support its efforts to advocate for change.
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Enter the 2012 "Be the Change" Video Contest
Teens: enter the Resilience Advocacy Project's video contest and win $200!
