Pathway to Kinship's Youth Empowerment and Success Program: Reentry for Formerly Incarcerated Youth

Youth economic advancement

City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Pathway to Kinship serves currently and formerly incarcerated community members in California, recognizing the immense barriers our communities face upon reentry.
In California, first-time juvenile offenders in California face an 80% chance of being rearrested within three years. This risk is heightened with unemployment. However, formerly incarcerated people face unique barriers to employment including bias and discrimination, tech literacy, employment discrimination, addiction support, and more.
Pathway to Kinship addresses these barriers with programs that work - We work with our participants to secure paid employment, gain the skills to get their first job after incarceration through workforce readiness, and to learn how to plan for future economic stability.

Pathway to Kinship helps young people get a real second chance.
Through Pathway to Kinship’s Youth Empowerment and Success program (YES), we work alongside formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted young people (18-28) to provide holistic workforce development, job placement, and social/emotional learning, equipping them with the tools to navigate through the hardest moments of reentry and beyond.
Pathway to Kinship’s Youth Empowerment and Success program is a three part program with 12-16 week cohorts. Participants are assigned a case manager to develop a reentry plan, attend effective workforce development trainings (2 weeks), and are onboarded into paid pre-apprenticeship trainings in sectors of their choice. Throughout the program, Pathway to Kinship staff provide weekly social/emotional skills develop to address trauma and foster community connection - including sessions on restorative justice, community service, substance abuse, and housing placement.
Last year, we reached 140 participants in the program, and have a growing waitlist for our next cohort. Your support will help us to expand this effective anti-violence program for youth, providing a second chance for young people in LA.

Los Angeles County is a place of opportunity, of dreams, reinvention, and creativity. Formerly incarcerated community members deserve this opportunity; they've served their time but they are not given a fair chance at success.
With your support, we can build a more equitable Los Angeles. As a result of our work together:
1) Pathway to Kinship can reach 500 formerly incarcerated youth with the skills to find housing, employment, and community.
2) Over 85% of our participants will secure and hold employment after a year, significantly contributing to anti-recidivism.
3) Pathway to Kinship's model will serve as a best practice for reentry, trusting in the leadership of formerly incarcerated youth to blend job skills training, restorative justice, and mentorship to truly foster lasting economic equity.
Over the past 2 years, we have seen a 150% + demand for service; together, we can reach impacted Los Angelinos with programming that works.