Gangs: Hope Now for Youth

GANGS

Hope Now for Youth (Fresno, CA)

Who They Serve: Youth with current or previous involvement in gangs

What They Do:  Job training and/or occupational retraining, youth leadership, life skills development, youth mentoring, substance abuse prevention/treatment, youth education, emergency medical, dental and legal services, college scholarships

Brief Description: 

Hope Now for Youth hires ex-gang members, who have turned their lives around, to become Vocational Placement Counselors.  To date, these counselors have placed 1,300 gang affiliated youth ages 16-24 into jobs, with an 85 percent job retention rate.  Hope Now collaborates with 300 businesses in the city of Fresno, which provide employment opportunities.  In addition, counseling and housing are made available through the program’s collaboration with the Youth Authority Parole.  92 percent of participants have not been rearrested.