Youth Passageways

THE AIM OF YOUTH PASSAGEWAYS (YPW) IS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHY, MEANINGFUL INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. INITIATORY EXPERIENCES, OFTEN CALLED "RITES OF PASSAGE," HAVE BEEN AN ESSENTIAL PART OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY, PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH, A STRONG SENSE OF INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY, AND A CLEAR SOCIAL ROLE; WHILE ALSO STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY HEALTH AND RESILIENCY. YET MANY, IF NOT MOST, COMMUNITIES TODAY LACK MEANINGFUL RITES OF PASSAGE, LEAVING A VACUUM FILLED BY UNHEALTHY RISK TAKING BY YOUTH, DISENGAGEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE ADULTS AND ELDERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND SELF-INTEREST RUN RAMPANT. FOR MANY YEARS, INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES HAVE BEEN SEEKING TO ADDRESS THIS GAP IN HOW WE RAISE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH PROVIDING RITE OF PASSAGE OPPORTUNITIES IN ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT CONTEXTS, FROM SMALL SCALE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO LARGER PROJECTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HOWEVER, THERE REMAINS LIMITED PUBL

INTERNET-BASED EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES THE PRIMARY ACTIVITY OF YOUTH PASSAGEWAYS (YPW) IS TO INCREASE BROAD PUBLIC AWARENESS, EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, AND INCREASE ACCESS TO INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF INTERNET- BASED RESOURCES. YPW CREATES AND DISSEMINATES RESOURCES ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, RITES OF PASSAGE, AND RELATED TOPICS FOR YOUTH WORKERS, EDUCATORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, PARENTS, AND THE BROAD PUBLIC. THESE RESOURCES INCLUDE CONTENT RICH BIWEEKLY BLOG POSTS, A REGULAR NEWSLETTER, AND WE WILL SOON ADD AN ONLINE JOURNAL. THESE RESOURCES ARE FREELY AVAILABLE TO ANY AND ALL INTERESTED PARTIES, WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF CREATING BROADER PUBLIC AWARENESS OF, AND ACCESS TO, INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. WE WILL INCREASINGLY WORK TO MAKE RESOURCES RELEVANT TO YOUNG PEOPLE THEMSELVES. ADDITIONALLY, YPW HAS CREATED, AND IS NOW ACTIVELY MAINTAINING AND GROWING, A USER FRIENDLY, SEARCHABLE WEBSITE OF INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. THIS DATABASE OFFERS YOUTH, PARENTS, AND OTHERS A CENTRAL DATABASE OF RITE OF PASSAGE EXPERIENCES, INCREASING ACCESS TO A BROAD RANGE OF OFFERINGS. THIS WEBSITE ALSO HOUSES GENERAL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION ABOUT RITES OF PASSAGE, AS WELL AS AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF RESOURCES. ADDITIONALLY, YOUTH PASSAGEWAYS IS BEGINNING TO PROVIDE SEVERAL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ONLINE TOOLS, INCLUDING FEATURES ON OUR WEBSITE, A GOOGLE GROUP, AND FACEBOOK GROUP, THAT ALLOW OUR PARTNERS AND THE INTERESTED BROAD PUBLIC TO SHARE RESOURCES WITH ONE ANOTHER. ALL OF THESE TOOLS MAKE THESE APPROACHES TO YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK MORE VISIBLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO MORE PEOPLE. THEY ALSO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN THIS EMERGENT FIELD AND THIS WILL ALSO INCREASE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO A WIDER PUBLIC. INCREASINGLY, THESE TOOLS WILL ALLOW PARENTS, YOUTH, AND A BROAD RANGE OF YOUTH WORKERS TO ACCESS RESOURCES SPECIFIC TO THEIR NEEDS OR UNIQUE SITUATION. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE AND WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, MEMBERSHIP FEES, AND FOUNDATION GRANTS. THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHED BY STAFF AS OF NOW CONTRACTORS AS WELL AS VOLUNTEERS

INPERSON EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES: YOUTH PASSAGEWAYS WILL ALSO SPONSOR CONFERENCES, RETREATS AND GATHERINGS (APPROXIMATELY 12 PER YEAR INITIALLY) THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ON TOPICS RELATED TO RITES OF PASSAGE, THEIR EFFICACY, AND THEIR IMPORTANCE AS PART OF COMPREHENSIVE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. THESE GATHERINGS, VARYING IN SIZE DEPENDING ON SPECIFIC OUTCOMES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, WILL BOTH SEEK TO PROVIDE TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR PARTICIPANTS, AS WELL AS PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CULTIVATE BROADER PUBLIC AWARENESS THROUGH ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN THE LOCALE IN WHICH THEY ARE HELD. THESE ARE AND WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, FOUNDATION GRANTS, AND GATHERING FEES. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE AND WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, MEMBERSHIP FEES, AND FOUNDATION GRANTS. THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHED BY STAFF AS OF NOW CONTRACTORS AS WELL AS VOLUNTEERS

RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTICES UTILIZING OUR CURRENTLY ESTABLISHED AND WIDENING NETWORK OF LONGSTANDING PROFESSIONALS, INCLUDING EDUCATORS, PRACTITIONERS, SCHOLARS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS, YOUTH PASSAGEWAYS WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH, CREATE RESOURCES, AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO YOUTH WORKERS REGARDING SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT EMERGE IN PROVIDING INITIATORY EXPERIENCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE: ADOLESCENT AND YOUNG ADULT DEVELOPMENT, MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY, MENTORSHIP ETHICS, AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE MADE FREELY AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR JOURNAL, NEWSLETTERS, AND WEBSITE, AS WELL AS THE LIKELY DEVELOPMENT OF WORKSHOPS AND TRAININGS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE RECENTLY COMPLETED WORK ON A SET OF "MULTICULTURAL PROTOCOLS" DESIGNED TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SENSITIVE ISSUES OF MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN RITES OF PASSAGE. THESE PROTOCOLS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, AND ARE FREELY AVAILABLE TO ANY AND ALL INTERESTED PARTIES OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS AREA OF WORK IS ULTIMATELY AIMED AT STRENGTHENING THE DIVERSITY, AVAILABILITY, AND ACCESSIBILITY OF RITE OF PASSAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS CREATING RESOURCES WITH APPLICABILITY IN OTHER CONTEXTS. THIS WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, PARTNERSHIP FEES, FOUNDATION GRANTS AND COULD ALSO INCLUDE WORKSHOP FEES FOR PARTICIPANTS IF APPROPRIATE. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE AND WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS, MEMBERSHIP FEES, AND FOUNDATION GRANTS. THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHED BY STAFF AS OF NOW CONTRACTORS AS WELL AS VOLUNTEERS