Just as I Am Youth Empowerment Inc

Just As I Am Youth Empowerment, Inc. (JAIA YOUth) supports youth aged 16 to 21 from marginalized BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities by helping them shift from trauma & low esteem to self-efficacy & leadership.

Our mission is to promote healthy communities through transformative youth personal and leadership development.

Our vision is to develop conscious, confident leaders nationally and globally through youth-led and adult-supported programs created in NYC.

Why You Should Support JAIA:

1. Empowering the Next Generation: JAIA YOUth fosters personal development and leadership skills among teens and young adults. By donating to JAIA, you are directly contributing to the empowerment of young leaders who are equipped to create positive change in their communities.
2. Transformative Programs: Our programs, such as the Mindful Leaders Institute, which includes the Youth Leadership Council, provide essential training in mindfulness, mental health literacy, and ethical decision-making. Participants engage in experiential learning that enhances their social-emotional skills, enabling them to navigate challenges like anxiety and stigma while developing a strong sense of self-worth and purpose.
3. Community Impact: JAIA is about community transformation. Through our Healthy Minds, Healthy Vibes: Mental Wellness and Healing Justice Internships, youth leaders, a.k.a. "JAIAnts," address systemic issues such as racism and poverty, fostering healthier, more inclusive communities. Your support helps us expand these initiatives, reaching more youth and creating a ripple effect of positive change.
4. A Proven Track Record: Now in its 10th year, JAIA YOUth has successfully co-created with youth to promote mindfulness and mental health literacy. Our youth-directed and co-led programs and retreats have demonstrated a significant impact, helping participants gain inner-awareness, confidence, and the skills needed to lead meaningful lives. By donating, you invest in a proven model that has already changed countless lives.
   

Join us in making a difference by providing stipend programs, scholarships, resources, and educational and professional opportunities for a future of conscious youth to thrive.  

Impact:

In the fiscal year 2023,

• We served more than 400 youth!
• Volunteers engaged in more than 1100 hours!
• We provided 75 hours of peer educator training! 
• We enrolled twice as many YOUth in our Healthy Minds, Healthy Vibes Summer Youth Employment Workspace!

Our Programs and Services:

The Mindful Leaders Institute (MLI) is a comprehensive, evidence-based personal development program designed to equip youth with the mindset, discipline, tools, and skills necessary to lead meaningful lives dedicated to service and community impact.

This three-year, tiered program offers social-emotional learning (SEL), mindfulness training, mental health literacy, and experiential learning in ethical decision-making and service opportunities. Each year, participants gain greater self-awareness, confidence, and clarity in their personal and career goals, along with tools and techniques for effective communication and building healthier relationships.

Following the first year of the MLI, the JAIA YOUth Leadership Council (JYC) trains young leaders in project management, team building, mindfulness techniques, and group facilitation skills. This training empowers them to design transformative workshops and events for their peers and adults. When youth join the JYC in the second year of MLI, they formalize their leadership roles and begin to plan and implement community service, education, and career mentorship.

Saturday Seeds for Your Soul is a monthly group life coaching program where youth and adults receive guidance from professional life coaches and leadership experts on achieving their personal and career goals. Now in its sixth year, this initiative continues to empower participants on their journeys.

The Healthy Minds, Healthy Vibes (HMHV) Wellness & Healing Justice Internship, now in its third year, engages student anxiety and depression, identity, coping with school anxiety, and maintaining a positive mindset while experiencing art-based activi