Youth as Resources

Youth as Resources

Youth as Resources (YAR), is an innovative model of youth empowerment and youth leadership in community services and social change.  YAR is both a program and a philosophy that recognizes youth as valuable resources in their community and engages them as partners with adult residents to bring positive change in low income communities.  Over the years YAR has evolved to incorporate Youth Capital Development (YCD) into the YAR model.  YCD is a concept of youth development work that is infused in all of its programmatic activities.  Both parallel the philosophy of Chicago Area Project to empower youth.  CAP uses a very specific definition of youth work, adopted from the National Youth Agency Statement of Principles, to capture both the YAR/YCD mode:  

“The purpose of youth work is to facilitate and to support young people’s growth through dependence to independence, by encouraging their personal and social development and enabling them to have a voice, influence and place in their communities and society.”

Youth capital development

YCD focuses on developing future leaders by cultivating their natural leadership gifts by providing avenues to express themselves and equipping them with skills to become advocates for themselves and their communities. YCD works with young people to create a positive change through community services that are inspired, led and implemented by youth.

Following are topic covered in the training:  Public speaking, conflict resolution, group dynamics, the art of facilitation, setting agendas for meetings, project implementation, responsibility and accountability of leadership, and youth appearance on CAN-TV discussing the importance of youth community involvement.