Breaking the Cycle of Violence, in West and Southwest Philadelphia

Any given afternoon or evening at YEAH Philly (Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout) on Walton Avenue, you may find teenagers and young adults learning how to rewire an electrical panel, refurbish a bathroom, or repair a car. Or, they may be engrossed in peer-led mediation or conflict resolution training. These young people have been impacted by violence and are rebuilding their lives.

“The system isn’t fair to the young people we work with,” Kendra Van de Water, who co-founded YEAH Philly with James Aye in 2018, says. The organization’s mission is to break the cycle of violence in West and Southwest Philadelphia. “We tell them, ‘Sure, you might have made some mistakes, but the system’s not fair.’ They’re like, ‘Okay! Thank you. I’ve been saying that all along.’” YEAH Philly offers young people ages 15 to 24 everything they need to sustain a full-time job, including rebuilding their self-esteem. The goal: to become self-sufficient by the time they leave the program.

Why did you start YEAH Philly? What did you see that was missing?

I started YEAH Philly because of my experiences as a teenager. I had an experience with the legal system where my family didn’t know what to do. I ended up in the juvenile detention center for four days, meeting kids my age who said that they were in there for a year to a year-and-a-half. They didn’t have connections to anyone who could help them. That’s what propelled me into my career.

There are a lot of holistic services missing for teenagers and young adults in Philadelphia, and these young people are often ignored. They’re not listened to, and the things that they need or want don’t get implemented.

What do you mean when you say that you help them get what they need or want?

For a young person, if you’re not on a clear trajectory where you go to high school every day, and you go to college, and you have family support, you may fall through the cracks.

[YEAH Philly takes] young people who have been impacted by violence. They often get overlooked, kicked out of school, or kicked out of their home, so we’re giving them the support and the access to opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

The young people we serve often don’t have their birth certificate, their Social Security card, or their state ID — the basic documentation you need to get a job or do anything in life. It means they can’t get a driver’s license and they can’t get a job, even though they need to make money. We help them gain life skills and rebuild their self-esteem, one step at a time. We created YEAH Philly because we wanted to elevate a group of people who generally don’t get services.

What is the mission and the vision of YEAH Philly?

We create safe and authentic hangout spaces where young people can be themselves and also get the things that they need, like job training, housing, or legal and educational support. And by doing that we can reduce violence through direct investment in them with opportunities.

YEAH Philly offers peer-led mediation, teaches conflict resolution, and provides economic opportunities. One of our visions is that these young people get invested in our programs, so they’re able to get the support they need within their communities without having to go through the legal system and awful experiences.

Another mission of YEAH Philly is to help young people navigate the legal system. We help them understand how to get their charges reduced or even dropped. We’re saying, “Okay, it may not be fair, but this is the system we have, and we have to do what we can to get the best outcome possible for you.”

“We see their confidence change, and they start experiencing all of these internal shifts and increased feelings of self-worth. That makes me so happy.”

How does YEAH Philly help young people navigate the legal system?

Some of the young people we deal with have been in the legal system since they were 10 and 12. Now they’re older, and when they go to court, we go with them and teach them that they can ask for what they need at their court date.

A judge may say, “I want you to go into this program,” and we’ll ask, “Does this program work for you? Does that seem like it will be a good fit?” They may say they would rather be part of another program, perhaps closer to home. We tell them, “Ask for what you need.”

So part of what we do is empower young people to ask for the support they need, and it works. We have good outcomes in terms of getting people off probation and out of the system because of the holistic support we provide.

What’s the biggest impact you have on young people at YEAH Philly?

Obviously not everybody does well in traditional educational environments, so we’re offering vocational training, whether that’s learning how to do electrical work or something else. If someone can gain a skill, they can feel like they can be successful. Often, young people come to us and they’re defeated as hell. They’re like, “I don’t know how to do anything; I just need to make money.”

We say, “All right, we can help you make money, but you need to learn something that you like to do and that can make you money in the long run.” They come up with ideas of what they want to learn. It can be things like cooking or music production, and we try to implement that. When they start to make money, it makes such a difference. Even a stipend of $150-a-week makes such a huge difference for them. When you start earning money, you start building your self-esteem.

We work with a population that others don’t want to work with. They often do not have traditional parenting or someone at home to tell them, “It’s time to get up. It’s time to go to school. It’s time to show up.” When they learn to show up, here at YEAH Philly, it builds their self-esteem. We are teaching them that showing up is a skill. If you come here for a week, getting paid is your reward. That’s your incentive. They’ll tell me, “Since I’ve been in YEAH Philly’s program, I always have some money.”

When you keep showing up, whether you are wiring up a wall or learning something else, your rewards get bigger. Then we see their confidence change, and they start experiencing all of these internal shifts and increased feelings of self-worth. That makes me so happy.

What is your ambition for someone who goes through YEAH Philly?

Once you see these young people become fully trained, they can then work in the community. They can get their contractor license and even start their own business. A lot of what we do is provide them with exposure to different things and help them figure out what they like and what they don’t like.

They may tell us, “I don’t think I would be a very good electrician, but I love cars. I want to know how to fix a car!” So we set that up.

How do you measure the impact of the program?

When we meet our young people, often they are in jail. By the time they leave our program, they are usually self-sufficient. They’ll have their driver’s license, a car, stable housing, and a job. We help them do all of that. So we always say, “From jail to self-sufficiency.” It’s life changing.

What we’re really trying to do is to help them get a life that they want to live. When they enter YEAH Philly, a lot of them are like, “I won’t make it to 21.” Or younger people will say, “I’m not gonna make it to 18, because all my friends are dead.” We tell them, “You don’t have to be like them. You have all of these opportunities, and people just need to wrap their arms around you.”

Is there a success story that comes to mind?

We just had a young person who works at our market. He’s very new, and we didn’t know him very well; but he called me all excited after meeting with our education staff and said, “Miss Kendra, I just left the hangout, and I realized I can go back to college! Nobody ever told me that; they always said I couldn’t.” He had an old legal case that got thrown out and he said, “I thought I was not allowed to go to college because of my legal case, and then I thought I was I was too old to go, because I’m 22.”

A lot of times, [young adults] will say things like, “Oh, I’m dumb. I can’t do this. I can’t do that.” And I tell them, “Well, I just heard you make five songs in the music studio, so you’re not dumb. You need to figure out other ways that you can do things and make money. You just need to have these skills pulled out of you. But they’re in there, and you can do a whole lot.”

How do you find the young people who you serve?

We’re the only community organization that serves young people who have been charged with a violent crime. There is no real service to help them get back into the workforce, because society’s like, “Oh, well, they don’t deserve it.”

A lot of people won’t hire somebody who has a record or who has been in the legal system for violent crimes. And as a result, they miss a whole group of young people who are incredibly inspiring, talented, and driven; and they want to get back on the right track.

What do you think is misunderstood about the community you serve?

Many of these young people who are at the highest risk of violence have grown up in poverty, without any opportunities. A lot of times, they don’t have anyone who they really trust or who they can rely on, so they rely on themselves. That’s where you see young kids start to get in trouble. If you’re a self-starter at nine, you might start shoplifting; and by 12, maybe you own a gun.

Why do we expect them to be productive members of society when they are dealing with extensive trauma and do not have a healthy, wholesome home life? When you meet this young person, you realize this same kid could be an incredibly beneficial member of a team, if they are given the opportunity.

What’s been your biggest challenge?

I think our biggest challenge is living in a state that does not believe in the kinds of juvenile justice reform that would benefit the young people we work with, especially when it comes to addressing racism. We’re fighting against systems and people every day who do not want to talk about racism. So that’s definitely a huge thing that we deal with every day.

We are a pretty new organization, but we’ve already gotten state regulations changed when it comes to accessing birth certificates for kids under the age of 18 (ages 16 and 17). It used to be that you had to have a parent request your birth certificate. Now, you can request your own even if you are under the age of 18, and you’ll get it within two weeks. That’s a huge thing, since it helps them get a Social Security card and start work right away. You need a birth certificate for everything: your driver’s license, any official state ID, school enrollment etc. So this is changing the narrative around how we treat young people.

What’s something you’re proud of?

I see the young people transform over the time they are here. They walk in that first day, maybe wearing a ski mask, and they are not sure if they can trust us. When they keep coming back, they start showing up differently. They start to show up lighter and brighter. Soon, they laugh more, they smile more. When that ski mask comes off, they start to interact more and engage more, as their confidence gets built up.

How do people find YEAH Philly and join the program?

It’s a lot of word of mouth, but we have built trust over time. Now, when we post events and workshops on Instagram, they fill up in an hour or so. We get calls from jails from people who tell us, “You helped my friend get out of jail.” Our court program (Violent Crime Initiative) is solely a referral program, and we fill up fast.

When someone donates to YEAH Philly, where does that money go?

A lot of times when people donate, people will say, give the money to the area of greatest need. Or they can say, we want to give to the market, which offers free food for anyone who needs it. Or they want to give to the job program. So they can specify where they want their funds to go. Either way, it goes to making sure young people continue to get the services we offer for free.

What do you wish people understood about YEAH Philly?

I wish more people understood that if you don’t address racism, which is the root cause of a lot of our issues, then we’re not going to be able to solve societal issues. This system isn’t fair to the young people we work with. We tell them we agree with that. We say, “Sure, you might have made some mistakes, but the system’s not fair.” And so then they’re like, “Okay! Thank you. I’ve been saying that all along.” We tell them, “You deserve better.” We all agree the system needs to be dismantled.

Is there a book passage or a quote that inspires?

We have coined a phrase to express what we are doing: “Lead, disrupt, and inspire.”

You have to be a leader, even when it’s hard. It’s not always going to be easy, but good leaders are disruptors. You need disruption for any type of movement or for transformational change. And then you need to inspire other people to get on board. When I graduated from graduate school at the University of Maryland, I decorated my graduation cap with that phrase, and I’ve used it ever since.

What do you hope the organization will achieve in 2025, or over the next three years?

I hope that we are able to serve every young person in Philadelphia who is charged with a violent crime. That’s about 500 of them; we’ve already served more than 175 of them. So it’s doable. And I hope we’re able to get every young person in West and Southwest Philadelphia who needs training, certification, a job, or another type of opportunity. The main goal is to create a city and society that treats young people better and gives them access to opportunities for a life they already deserve, no matter who they are. That’s what we’re working toward.

Favorite performing artist: Jill Scott

Favorite Philly food or place to eat: Terminal Market. Whenever I go, I always get a turkey and swiss sandwich from The Original Turkey.

Favorite place for cheesesteak: Max’s Steaks has the best cheesesteaks. Everybody should go there.

Favorite Philadelphian from history: W.E.B. Du Bois. Okay, so he’s not from Philadelphia, but he was part of the civil rights movement of Philadelphia. He was part of the Colored Conventions in Philadelphia, in the 1830s, and they put me on a mural with him. Yes, I am on a mural celebrating the history of the civil rights movement in Philly. It’s at 4th and Washington. They put me in the “21st Century” panel. On other panels are historical figures like Harriet Tubman and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Favorite place you go to relax: My house! Specifically, my purple couch, because it’s very comfortable.

Favorite Philly small business: Ubuntu Fine Art. It’s the only Black-owned fine art gallery in Philly.

I wish people knew this about Philadelphia: Philadelphia folks may seem rough around the edges, but we will love you and support you.

Why I love Philly and want to give back: Philly is home, and no matter where I go, I always come back home. And it’s just a beautiful city. You know, people think we’re the underdog, but we are a gem!

LUCY DANZIGER is a journalist, an author, and the former editor-in-chief of Self Magazine, Women’s Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.

Philly Gives content is supported by the Philadelphia Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and The Lenfest Institute; and produced independently by INQStudio. To learn more about Philly Gives, including how to donate, visit phillygives.org.