Youth Empowerment is as strong as the community that holds it up. Together, we can do more than we can alone. We engage with our community by example. All of our mentors are Credible Messengers, meaning they have lived experience in gangs, criminal activities, incarceration, physical, emotional or substance abuse, and most have grown up in or live now in Southeast San Diego/City Heights. Our team members are active in Project Safe Neighborhood, the Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention, and San Diego Unified School District. YE also offers Parents on a Mission, a curriculum where parents of all ages are taught skills that allow them to prepare their children to deal with negative influences and peer pressure, inspiring them to avoid gangs and develop into contributing members of their communities.

“Resilience is recognizing that through all our adversities and trauma, we have the ability to overcome and achieve success, stability, good health and happiness.” —- Niki Martinez

The dictionary defines resilience as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.” Instilling resilience is at the core of Youth Empowerment’s mission and programs.

YE works to identify youth and adult leaders. In low-income communities with significant gang activity, individuals with leadership potential often see few alternatives to criminal activity. Gangs actively identify and recruit individuals with leadership potential. Credible Messengers can disrupt this process and offer individuals the opportunity to develop as leaders that contribute to the health, safety, and resilience of their communities.