Identity Inc

Eric’s Story

When Eric walked into Identity’s Youth Opportunity Center, he had dropped out of high school and was facing legal problems.  He was immediately welcomed in by our staff, who let him know he would find the support he needed.  Identity advocated on his behalf in the courts and helped him re-enroll in school.  He began to participate in the center’s Brotherhood program for at-risk boys, where he learned healthy decision-making skills and received counseling and mentoring from our staff.  As he turned his life around, he was chosen to take part in the center’s Youth Advisory Board, which provides input on recruiting new clients and developing effective programs.  Through the constant encouragement and guidance of Identity’s staff and the friends he made at the Center, Eric was able to graduate from high school last Spring.

Eric now holds a full-time job and is saving money to attend college—where he plans to study social work.  Eric views the Center as a safe place where he can drop in to get help or advice from our staff.  “I feel that with the Center’s help I was able to graduate from high school and resolve my legal problems; there was always someone to talk to who was interested in listening to my concerns.”

Background on Identity

Identity, a community-based organization with headquarters in Montgomery County, MD, serves Latino youth and their families.  We exist because there is an increasingly growing and underrepresented Latino community in the county who has limited access to programs and services.  The youth, who account for one-third of all Latinos, represent the fastest growing segment of the population in the county.  They are particularly underserved and face grave barriers that hinder their ability to succeed, such as poverty, separation from family, limited English proficiency, immigration-related obstacles, and the growing influence of gangs.  Identity provides the means for Latino youth to overcome these barriers.  Our goal is to facilitate their successful transition into adulthood by providing skills, guidance, positive role models, and a strong sense of community. We create opportunities to ensure that the next generation is better educated and equipped with the necessary skills to build effective connections within their communities and become productive and contributing members of society. More than 1,300 youth participate in these programs annually free of charge.

The youth we serve represent the most vulnerable segment of the population.  They are often at high risk of gang involvement, tend to engage in dangerous behaviors, and have high drop-out and truancy rates.  To address these conditions, Identity has designed highly successful programs, including GED classes for youth involved in gangs, workforce development workshops, teen-pregnancy prevention curricula, HIV testing and counseling, and after-school programs conducted in 16 middle and high schools throughout Montgomery County.  In addition, we provide the youth and their families with intensive case management services by conducting individual counseling sessions and linking them to social or emergency services available in the county.  Central to our approach is the Positive Youth Development model, which outlines learning strategies that focus on the wellbeing of the youth in all aspects of their lives. 

The key to our success lies in two guiding principles: developing comprehensive and integrated program designs that respond to the specific needs of the youth and providing each one with the opportunity to forge a positive and trusting relationship with caring adults to whom they can look up as mentors and role models.

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