Union Settlement: Youth Opportunity Hub Grantee

In February 2017, Union Settlement was selected to receive funds under the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) in response to the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s request for proposals to establish Youth Opportunity Hubs serving East Harlem, Central and West Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Lower East Side. The Youth Opportunity Hubs investment will create vibrant youth centers that provide comprehensive and coordinated services and opportunities, drawing upon young people’s strengths and addressing multiple risk factors and needs to prevent youth from becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

With these funds, Union Settlement will partner with local organizations to establish a Youth Opportunity Hub serving East Harlem. The Hub will provide services including, but not limited to, employment and workforce training, violence prevention, recreation, mental health services, legal representation, maternal and infant health services, leadership development, and benefits assistance. The Hub will have three central service locations in public housing communities in East Harlem, and will benefit from Union Settlement’s 100+ years of experience and extensive network of community partners. Partners for the Hub include Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Big Apple Circus, Boys and Girls Harbor, Boys’ Club of New York, Children’s Aid Society, NYPD 23rd Precinct, Community Voices Heard, Concrete Safaris, DOE District 75, East Harlem Tutorial Program, El Museo del Barrio, GOSO, Harlem RBI, House of SpeakEasy Foundation, Iris House, Legal Information for Families Today, Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Services, Manhattan Neighborhood Network El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center, Metropolitan Hospital, Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center, NYCHA, Police Athletic League, Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center, STRIVE International, Youth Action YouthBuild, The Legal Aid Society, and Community School District 4.

Union Settlement is one of five organizations to receive funds to create Youth Opportunity Hubs. These comprehensive, wraparound approaches help to reduce the likelihood of interaction with the justice system by cultivating a young person’s strengths, rather than focusing predominantly on risk and delinquency.

The Youth Opportunity Hubs, along with the other initiatives being developed under CJII, form a comprehensive set of strategic investments that, together, will have a significant, lasting impact on public safety and justice reform in New York City.