Youth Advocates, Inc.

YA is an innovative youth development organization based in Houston, Texas. Since 1988, Youth Advocates has been building a positive youth community for young people in Texas. YA utilizes hip-hop as its central organizing principle, employing a vernacular that young people appreciate. The ethos of this community promotes autonomy, independent thinking, and creativity, and builds unconventional opportunities for growth and self-expression. Within this culture, YA establishes a norm of affection that connects disenfranchised young people to adults and to each other in constructive and discernable ways. Eliminating geographical and ethnic boundaries, YA creates a large circle of friends, joined by the common values of love, acceptance, and mutual respect. As our young people open themselves to new ways of thinking, their negative behavior patterns--and their hopelessness--fall away and are replaced by healthier, more proactive modes of activity.