Organization with Counter-recruitment as a component
Organization base:
Student and non-student community based
Outreach to specific communities:
African American
Asian
BIPOC
Immigrant
Latinx
LGBTQ+
Issues you are working on:
Alternatives to the military
Equal school access for counter-recruitment
General counter-recruitment/Truth in Recruitment youth education
Limiting recruiter access to schools
NCLB recruiting list opt-out
Years in Operation: More than 20 years
Summary describing your organization: The mission of the YA-YA Network (Youth Activists-Youth Allies) is to provide training and leadership experience to prepare young people to become the next generation of activists in the movement for social and economic justice. YA-YA is a youth-driven, citywide, anti-racist, anti-sexist organization and allies with the BIPOC/LGBTQ+ community. We are staffed by young activists ages 15-25. We provide core trainings in anti-oppression, organizing skills and political education then engage as leaders and active members in campaigns that directly impact youth, their families and the communities they live in. The YA-YA Network is a youth-led organization that trains young leaders who are passionate about making change in community organizing around social justice through peer anti-oppression political education such as workshops about the school-to-prison-pipeline. Through an impactful balance of political education and campaign work, young people foster organizing skills.