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Youth Options Unlimited (YOU) Boston

Empowering young people from court-involved or at-risk backgrounds to succeed in the workforce, in the community, and in their lives.

YOU Boston offers every young person an opportunity to work and learn, along with intensive staff support. This dual approach, of both challenge and encouragement, helps young people take actionable steps toward a better future.

School-Year Youth Employment

The Youth Employment program places young people ages 14-24 in paid, supervised opportunities with community-based organizations. During the school year, participants can work up to 15 hours for 4-6 weeks. Young people will:

  • gain crucial early-life work experiences
  • develop job readiness skills
  • begin building their resumes, and
  • experience the relationship between work and reward (at $15+ per hour).

Applications are currently closed. 

Summer Youth Employment

The Summer Youth Employment program is an shorter, more intensive, version of the Youth Employment program. Young people work 15-25 hours per week for 6-8 weeks during the summer months. Applications are currently closed and will reopen Summer 2024.

Case Management and Workshops

Case Management

Every young person at YOU Boston has the option of case manager support. Together, they meet one-on-one to establish an Individualized Service Plan (ISP). This plan focuses on achieving self-set goals. Young people meet regularly with their case manager to track goal progress. The ISP helps them to stay focused on their future and celebrate small successes along the way. Young people without a high school diploma or GED can establish an education plan focused on achieving their secondary credential.

Youth Empowerment Workshops

Young people at YOU Boston can take advantage of youth empowerment workshops. These workshops are calibrated to the needs of different peer groups. In fall 2017, for example, YOU Boston provided an ongoing workshop for young fathers and another for teenage girls and young women.

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