Fortify Our Rebel Youth Teen Violence Prevention Program (FOR Youth TVP)

Community safety

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) Antelope Valley

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Violence is an epidemic, and its impact on youth—especially in marginalized communities like the Antelope Valley—is immediate and long-lasting. Teen dating violence (TDV) often begins with early exposure to domestic violence, shaping harmful relationship norms that persist without intervention. In LA County, 47% of surveyed youth report experiencing intimate partner violence—rates significantly higher than national averages. The Antelope Valley, with 30% of its population under 18 and high Black and Latinx populations, faces barriers to healthcare, mental health services, and violence prevention. Poverty, housing insecurity, and systemic neglect exacerbate risk factors. TDV is not an isolated issue; it reflects a cycle of trauma, racism, and structural inequity. Without urgent, community-driven action, this crisis will continue to fuel the school-to-prison pipeline and widen disparities for youth of color.

Fortify Our Rebel Youth (FOR Youth) is a mentorship-based anti-violence program rooted in Hip-Hop pedagogy and community healing. This grant will support a new program called FOR Youth TVP (Teen Violence Prevention), designed to reach youth in the Antelope Valley—a region disproportionately impacted by violence, poverty, and systemic neglect. Through culturally rooted, trauma-informed approaches, FOR Youth TVP will equip young people with tools to recognize, prevent, and heal from teen dating violence and toxic relationship behaviors.
Using elements of the evidence-based NO Excuses curriculum, the program helps youth identify and respond to behaviors like micro-aggressions, gaslighting, and patterns of power and control. Youth will explore these topics through creative outlets like dance, podcasting, graffiti art, and zine-making—transforming personal and community trauma into purpose-driven expression.
FOR Youth TVP builds safe, affirming spaces where youth develop peer support networks and leadership skills. They become violence prevention ambassadors, leading school and community education through youth-led performances, exhibitions, and forums. Their voices will drive awareness and healing at culminating community events. This model is designed to be replicable and sustainable.
This initiative addresses root causes of violence—systemic racism, generational trauma, and lack of access—while empowering youth to lead change and build a safer, more just Los Angeles.

If Fortify Our Rebel Youth (FOR Youth) is successful, Los Angeles will be home to a generation of empowered young people who are not only free from violence but actively leading the movement to end it. Schools and communities—especially in areas like the Antelope Valley—will shift from environments of fear and trauma to spaces of healing, creativity, and connection. Youth will recognize and challenge toxic behaviors, support one another, and use their voices and talents to promote peace and equity. Through Hip-Hop and the performing arts, young people will reclaim their narratives and become violence prevention ambassadors, using their art to educate peers, shift culture, and transform their schools. The cycle of intergenerational violence will begin to break as youth rise as leaders, not victims—turning creativity into a force for systemic change and making Los Angeles a safer, more just place for all.