Project Y is APNC’s youth organizing and youth development initiative that was started in 2001 by a group of young people committed to creating an effective vehicle for youth-led social change in Albany Park. Project Y believes in a youth organizing approach that includes intentional leadership training and development in the areas of organizing skills and developing a critical social analysis.

In its first years, Project Y focused on youth-police relations and access to higher education for immigrant students based on the issues that young people brought to the organization.

Project Y’s current organizing campaigns are all focused on increasing opportunities for young people by developing their unique talents both in and out of school, and encouraging young people to be critical thinkers and lifelong learners through the process. In order to develop these skills and talents in young people, youth have identified the need for high quality schools, community resources devoted to the development of teenagers, the creation of safe spaces for young people, and strong support from adult allies in the community. The components of this work include:

• Specific school reform organizing both locally at Roosevelt and Mather High School, as well as citywide through VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education)
• A “teen resource” campaign to increase the amount of positive programs and career connections for neighborhood youth
• A “safe space” campaign to promote neighborhood safety through strong youth-adult partnerships. Project Y also provides mentoring and college counseling, and has a peer mentor posse program to increase positive peer to peer influences
• Parnter with adult allies on Comprehensive Immigration Reform and continue to push for the DREAM Act nationally
• Partner with adult allies to push for affordable housing to stop youth and families from being pushed out of Albany Park and the surrounding communities

Project Y also provides opportunities for youth to develop their artistic talents, peer mentorship, college counseling and more recently creating a plan for wellness among all youth. These additional focuses help guide the organizng work in a holistic approach toward involving young people in creating personal and community transformation.

Click here to download the “Student Lead Solutions to the Nation’s Dropout Crisis” (5.4mb), which was released in November in cooperation with Chicago Public Schools (CPS)