Advent Urban Youth Development

In April of 2011, I co-founded a 501(c)3 charity called "Advent Urban Youth Development" (www.facebook.com/onebelovedcommunity or www.auyd.org). We exist to transform underserved communities by providing its youth with authentic community, holistic resilience and authentic community. We have developed a three-tiered approach to serving at-risk youth, placing kids in levels of involvement based on their needs. Tier 1 is SWARM (Students With A Resilient Mindset) after school and weekend programs. Tier 2 is 1BC (One Beloved Community) mentoring groups, and Tier 3 is the Advent House: A direct intake house for the most at-risk youth. My specific plan of action for this project is to further the development of an ongoing effort we have in place at Spanish Square. On January 14, 2012, AUYD had our first meeting of our SWARM program at Spanish Square Apartments. We had over 40 kids there, along with 25 volunteers! We had a time of hanging out, playing recreational games with the kids, providing them with a snack, and a time for a social skills lesson. With each week, more and more kids will come and a community will form. The kids will bond together with the adult mentors, and become family.