Youth Empowerment Project

Founded in 2004, YEP is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. At its inception, YEP was the first juvenile reentry program for formerly incarcerated children in the state of Louisiana. We have since expanded our programming to engage young people who live in poverty, are out of school or work, or have experienced trauma. Nearly 80% of our participants report an annual household income of less than $20,000 and 74% reside in single parent households.

Today, we are the largest organization in the Greater New Orleans region focused on providing comprehensive services to more than 1,200 young people annually. YEP provides four distinct services: mentoring and youth advocacy (YEP Mentors), adult education and high school equivalency preparation (YEP Educates), employment readiness (YEP Works), and out-of-school time programming (YEP Enriches). These programs have been developed in response to unmet community needs and are aligned with YEP’s core purpose, which is to empower young people to improve their lives and the lives of others.