YES: Youth Empowerment Solutions
for Positive Youth Development

Youth Empowerment Solutions for Positive Youth Development is a curriculum based violence prevention program that is based on the theory of youth empowerment and community engagement.

The goals of the YES program are to provide youth with opportunities for meaningful involvement in preventing youth violence and creating community change, enhance neighborhood organizations’ ability to engage youth in their activities, and change the social and physical environment to reduce and prevent violence (especially youth violence). The project involves youth in the process of changing community physical and social environments and includes three components: 1) youth empowerment activities; 2) neighborhood organization development; and 3) community development projects that involve youth and organizations working together. Youth empowerment activities include workshops for program planning, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation; opportunities to engage peers in community change efforts; developing ethnic identity and pride; and working with adults to achieve these goals.

Youth Empowerment Solutions was first introduced in 2004, through the YES for Peaceful Communities project in Flint, Michigan. This was continued through the YES for Positive Youth Development program and is currently being implemented as the intervention for the Genesee County After School Study and as one of the core programs of the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center.

YES Curriculum

The YES curriculum is now available and can be downloaded from the University of Michigan Tech Transfer website. The curriculum and implementation guide provides lesson plans for afterschool sessions, templates for community change projects and guidelines for adult advocate training.

There are two versions of the YES Curriculum, each with a different population focus: 1) African American populations and 2) Multicultural populations.

  Both versions of the curriculum utilize the same number of lessons with the same general content.  The difference comes in the specific examples and illustrations used within the lessons.  The first is the original version which was developed for use with a primarily African American student population.  In this version, the examples and illustrations are exclusively African and African American.  The cultural identity lessons deal exclusively with African culture.  This second version is entitled Multicultural on the Tech Transfer site, and includes examples and activities for a broader range of cultures. Both versions are free for you to download and use.

Downloading the curriculum: To download the YES curriculum(s), you will be linked to the University of Michigan Tech Transfer website. This website is for licensing products and materials from the University of Michigan. There are several steps involved in the download process. Before you are able to download the curriculum, you will be asked to create a username and password for the site, and agree to the license terms.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the downloading process. Email: contactprc@umich.edu

Download the YES curriculum

 

Training for YES Implementation

To go along with our curriculum we are also available to do training for your staff or your community on utilizing the YES curriculum and the YES program.  We are available to come to your site and offer a two day training which can be tailored to meet your specific needs.  More information on the training opportunities is available by calling: Pete Hutchison, 810-234-0937 or e-mailing Pete at phutchis@umich.edu.

For more information about YES, contact Pete Hutchison, phutchins@umich.edu, 810-234-0937.

 

 

YES Curriculum