"When no one was loving me back...."
When we believe in vulnerable youth, tell them they matter and give them a voice, they come to see the value of investing in themselves and their futures. This was the consistent theme we heard from the 12 finalists at Battery Powered’s Opportunity Youth Organization Night.
Alumni of the organizations spoke about the importance of being loved, being allowed to dream (often for the first time) and having an opportunity to realize their dreams. A RYSE Youth Center alumnus said, “They helped me love myself when no one else was loving me back.”
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
The secret sauce for many of the featured organizations is a combination of caring and consistent adult relationships, support with basic needs like housing, and services to reach their education and employment goals.
Safety & Healing
San Francisco Unified School District has a list of students who have stopped coming to school. They are often homeless and have experienced violence, trauma and loss. The system has given up on them and they have given up on themselves. Life Learning Academy, a public charter high school on Treasure Island, re-engages them. Alongside its high school degree program, Life Learning Academy offers food, transportation, and job training. But the reason they succeed, said Cassie Blazer, is because of love. 95% graduate high school and 100% graduate with a job. Many of the students need safe, stable housing. Life Learning Academy has completed construction of a dorm. Before it opens the doors, it is committed to raising two years of operating funds which Battery Powered funding would enable. “It costs $30,000 to get a kid in our dorm a year – it costs $300,000 to incarcerate that same kid. If they don’t go to Life Learning Academy, they do go to jail.”
Reluctantly dragged to RYSE Youth Center in Richmond for the first time by her brother, Dalia Ramos started with a dance class. That turned into training, communication skills and an internship. Dalia credits RYSE with helping her to grow, feeling loved and finding a space that was hers. Now serving as RYSE’s Member Engagement Coordinator, Dalia is mentoring young people the same way she was mentored. With the support of Battery Powered, RYSE will expand services to a wider age range of recipients. Dalia said RYSE provides a space for forgotten Richmond youth to go from surviving to thriving.
Foster Youth Defying the Odds
There are nearly 1,000 foster care youth in the city of San Francisco, and San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates (SFCASA) program supports 340 of them. SFCASA relies on adult volunteers to advocate on behalf of San Francisco’s foster youth. We heard from Auxi, who entered the foster care system at 14 and moved 9 times in 4 years. Auxi said her CASA, Wendy, provided the support “she desperately needed…She was able to go to court and advocate for me. She taught me the value of myself and my voice and that I can have a vision.” Just over 50% of foster youth in California graduate high school statewide, however for those with an SFCASA, nearly 100% graduate and 80% graduate on time. With the support of Battery Powered, SFCASA could scale toward their vision to provide a CASA to every foster youth in the city.
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Beyond Emancipation in East Oakland works with 900 current and former foster youth ages 14-24 each year. Beyond Emancipation provides transitional housing, education support, workforce development and wellness services. Additionally, it trains all staff, from the receptionist to the Executive Director, in its creative, connected, and resourceful coaching method. We heard from Executive Director Kate Durham and Residential Counselor and Community Coach Zimbabwe Davies, that with the help of Battery Powered, Beyond Emancipation could pilot a program to train a cohort of youth coaches. A peer-to-peer coaching system would empower youth further as they learn about positive choices, accountability, and “unleashing their own superpowers.”
Starting in 9th grade, Pivotal provides foster youth in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties 1:1 academic and employment coaching, weekend STEM programming, professional development and youth leadership skills. And its methods are working: its college graduation rate is 10 times the national average for foster youth. We heard from Lupe Diaz, an alumnus and now Board Member, that through Pivotal, she received a consistent coach that listened to her, let her lead and taught her that her voice mattered. Her coach took her on college tours and helped her with college applications. And when she got a Pivotal college scholarship, it was the first time she saw her name on an official document that wasn’t from the court system. Pivotal is currently serving 500 foster youth. With the help of Battery Powered, it can provide coaches to the 100 on its waiting list.
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
First Place for Youth helps young people coming out of foster care find stability and build skills to transition into education and employment. What started in Oakland, has now grown to five Bay Area counties, Los Angeles and Mississippi. CEO Heidi McIntosh said First Place changes the life trajectory for those it serves: 93% have stable housing, 85% are in school and 84% have found meaningful work. While public funding covers the basics: housing, grocery vouchers and transportation, philanthropic dollars deliver the magic that helps youth gain self-sufficiency. It currently serves 450 youth, and with the help of Battery Powered it could serve another 135 youth. Former First Place beneficiary, Tyray King said thanks to First Place he’s excited about his future
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Earn & Learn
YR Media (formerly Youth Radio) is a media enterprise where young people work alongside professionals to tell stories meaningful to underrepresented youth. It serves 300 youth in Oakland helping them build job skills in journalism, arts and media. Battery Powered funding would allow YR Media to expand its digital media pathway program, lengthen the YR Media internships from 3 months to 9 months, and add youth that live outside of Oakland. As a former foster youth, Seth Marceau said he is used to being let down “by the system.” At YR Media, he found a system that not only provided love and support but one that delivered on its promised resources.
Tess Reynolds, CEO of New Door Ventures said her organization connects opportunity youth to work and school through paid jobs, skill-building workshops, educational support and deep, individualized case management. Paid internships in their two social enterprises or with one of their 93 business partners around the city mean that 90% of graduates from New Door’s 3-month program successfully connect to their next job, school or both. Last year it expanded to Alameda County. It currently has more youth enrolled in its programs than it budgeted for. With Battery Powered funding, New Door Ventures could grow by 20%, giving more opportunity youth a chance at a new life.
Transforming Juvenile Justice
Frankie Guzman, attorney for the National Center for Youth Law, shared his story of growing up in a low-income immigrant community that was over-policed and under-served. He was homeless and served six years in the youth prison system until he was connected to services. Now he is fighting for California’s most vulnerable youth by changing laws: in the last 7 years, they have passed 15 laws to reduce the number of young people in the adult justice system and increase youth rehabilitation services. With Battery Powered’s help, the Center continue to advocate for youth and provide more community-based services to reduce juvenile arrests. “We are ready to act, and we invite you to join us.”
Young Women’s Freedom Center invests in the leadership of young women, transgender youth and non-binary youth in the Bay Area. Too often kids that have navigated the juvenile justice system are stuck in cycles of poverty, incarceration and violence. The Young Women’s Freedom Center, said Executive Director and former client Jessica Nowlan, is about providing a space where girls can dream and find meaningful employment. Through employment, education and healing services, its young women find their voice and become self-determined changemakers. It has worked with 38,000 youth over the last 26 years. With the help of Battery Powered, they can support the young women in its internship program.
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
College Success
Over 20,000 teens give birth in California every year, which is the equivalent of 714 classrooms of pregnant girls. Pregnancy is the number one reason girls drop out of school; only 38% of teen moms graduate high school and less than 2% graduate from college, said Karin Kelley Executive Director of Teen Success Inc. Teen pregnancy perpetuates a lifetime of hardship and poverty for teen moms and their children. Teen Success Inc. helps teen moms return to and stay in school. 93% of the young mothers it serves graduate high school. A grant from Battery Powered would ensure the 100 young women it supports can go beyond high school and persist in college through coaching and financial aid.
We heard from Kim Mazzuca, CEO of 10,000 Degrees that only 9% of students from low-income backgrounds will have a college degree by their mid-20s. 10,000 Degrees provides wrap-around college support to low-income youth, including financial aid, college matching, peer coaching, academic support, and transfer support from to four-year degree programs. It is currently serving 10,000 families and has over 2,000 students in college. Its students graduate with 85% less loan debt than the average college student. With the support of Battery Powered, 10,000 Degrees can assist more students. Together with Battery Powered it can tell even more youth: “You are enough, and I believe in you.”
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
For more information on our 12 Opportunity Youth finalists, check out their project pages here, which include summaries of each organization’s mission, work, and impact.
On June 10th, Battery Powered members will gather at Allocation Night to decide which organizations will be awarded a grant. Want to be part of the process? Join Battery Powered here.
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Battery Powered is The Battery's giving program. To learn more or get involved, visit thebatterysf.com/batterypowered or contact [email protected]