Celebrating 10 Years of Mentoring at YJI
Thank you to everyone who helped make this a special night for mentors, mentees, and supporters!
In 2001, the Juvenile Justice Center in San Francisco (“YGC” at the time) was full of girls who lacked family support and community resources. An idea developed from these concerns: we need mentors! We started off with three great female students from San Francisco State University to mentor girls in maximum security. A year later, it was clear that boys in maximum security needed the same support. Today, on average we recruit 80 mentors from all the major colleges in the Bay Area and serve 160 youth across San Francisco and Alameda counties each year.
Our tenth anniversary commemorative image (above) represents our work and where it all began—with an idea put into action. The bird in the image is a phoenix—a mythical sacred firebird that from its ashes is reborn. Like the phoenix, our youth hold within themselves the power of transformation. We invite you to join with us in celebration of this remarkable feat.