COMMUNITY COALITION
Our grant of $45,00 supports the South Central Youth Empowered through Action (SCYEA) program for leadership development, personal growth and transformation, and policy change organizing. CoCo’s mission is to help transform the social and economic conditions in South Los Angeles that foster addiction, crime, violence and poverty by building a community institution that involves thousands in creating, influencing and changing public policy. The SCYEA program cultivates well-rounded leaders by giving youth the skills to develop their ability to tell their stories, articulate an issue, and impactfully engage their peers and those in political office to make decisions impacting their lives. The program includes: leadership development, education and training, community involvement, and advocacy. The SCYEA program serves 400 students per year across 6 South LA high schools, and our grant will target the core group of 50 youth leaders in grades 9-12 who commit to multiple meetings a week at CoCo. While learning how to effect change for their community, the core 50 youth in the program are given the support they need to achieve their potential and emerge as adult leaders. Direct services embedded in SCYEA include academic tutoring, cultural enrichment, and wellness programming. Our grant funds will support youth leadership development programming and activities such as workshops, training sessions, and youth stipends as many of the youth have needed to find employment to help support their families as they struggle economically through COVID 19. These stipends enable them to remain in the program while helping to support their families.