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  • Holiday Gift Drive for YA! Client Families

    Posted November 10, 2023

    Help Youth ALIVE!s client families have a festive holiday season! This year, Youth ALIVE! is hosting a holiday gift drive to collect new, unwrapped gifts for children and families of all ages to distribute during the month of December.

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  • Ask CA to Fund Violence Prevention

    Posted September 13, 2023

    Ask CA to Fund Violence Prevention

    Our bill to fund violence prevention, AB 28, is on Governor Newsom’s Desk

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  • Associate Director Torres talks empathy and the road ahead

    Posted August 9, 2023

     A young life forever altered

    Many of you will have heard about the 8-year-old shot on 580 in July. He was left paralyzed from the waist down. YA! Associate Director John Torres spoke to ABC7 about empathy, the road ahead, and the healing power of community support. Watch the video here.

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  • A Very Oakland Life: Loss, Healing and Courage

    Posted August 8, 2023

    Kesse’s story

      Many members of the staff at Youth ALIVE! are survivors of violence. Some have been shot. Others have lost cherished loved ones to gun violence in Oakland. Kesse Taylor-Jenkins is an integral member of Youth ALIVE!’s Violence Interruption team. She has worked an Interrupter herself, and now manages the day-to-day operations of 15 interrupters who work odd hours and disperse across the city every day and night. Kesse has suffered much loss. She lost her son. She lost two brothers. She recently wrote up her story for The Oaklandside; is heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. We encourage you to read it.

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  • How we break the cycle of violence

    Posted August 8, 2023

    YA! staff in Bay City News article

    When the public, civic leaders or the media seek insight into how gun violence affects our city and our community, they often turn to Youth ALIVE! leaders, staff and clients. Last week, Bay City News spoke to a whole group of YA Staff, including Teens on Target (TNT) Coordinator MaryAnn Alvarado, former TNT youth leader and current Hometown Hero intern Edwin Galvan, Violence Interrupter Antoine towers, YA! Executive Director Joe Griffin and Healing Director Nicky MacCallum. Read the article here.

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  • It’s our new annual report!

    Posted August 8, 2023

    Hometown Heroes -

    We are thrilled to release Hometown Heroes, our annual report for 2022-2023, celebrating the amazing work and powerful commitment of our staff and our clients. When a person suffers from a gunshot, when a person loses a cherished loved one to gun violence, there is often a period of despair and inertia. And when the time comes to begin healing, survivors find that healing can be hard work, that it calls for courage and commitment. What our clients also find is that it helps to have support from someone who understands, who perhaps has been where you are now. Someone who is patient, who knows where to find you the help you need, whatever it is, someone who shows up, who does what they said they would do. These are the people and the stories you will find in our new annual report. Also lots of great pictures, and recent results from our programs. Take a look!

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  • Joe Griffin Celebrates 1 year as Executive Director

    Posted July 9, 2023

    Executive Director celebrates 1 year

    ED Joe Griffin celebrates one year as executive director of Youth ALIVE!. He is leading the agency through a 3-5 year strategic plan and looks forward to sharing more about this bold vision.

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  • Guardian Piece Traces Youth ALIVE! Impact, Influence

    Posted June 7, 2023

    YA!’s Impact in Focus in Guardian -

    Youth Alive, whose methods are now used around the country, first developed the hospital-based approach to gun violence more than 30 years ago in Oakland.

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  • CBS Looks at YA!'s Work with Oakland Youth

    Posted May 30, 2023

    TNT Youth Leader & YA! ED Speak

    After an eye-opening news conference held last week at which Oakland’s acting police chief discussed a surge in violence and a rash of burglaries in the city, CBS Bay Area looked at what community groups like Youth ALIVE! are doing to stem the tide of violence and empower Oakland youth to create change. The report featured interviews with Teens on Target youth leader Sierra Taylor and YA! executive director Joseph Griffin. A student at Castlemont High in East Oakland, Sierra spoke about what TNT youth learn and the lessons they take to their peers. “We started discussing the root causes of violence, such as poverty, easy access to guns, drugs, and alcohol, and how all of these factors contribute to violence. I became passionate about addressing these issues,” Sierra explained. Dr. Griffin talked about the complex roots of violence in Oakland and the long journey to healing after violence. “Programs like Teens on Target, and our violence interruption program, ensure that individuals receive assistance from the moment of trauma to their healing journey,” Griffin said. See the CBS Bay Area video and report here.

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  • YA! Supporters Hear the Sound of Hope

    Posted May 10, 2023

    It’s 510 Day, YA!-Style

     

    YA! ED Dr Joseph Griffin with Alameda Health System Foundation President Preston Walton

    Youth ALIVE! held our annual fundraiser Wednesday morning, a breakfast to kickoff Oakland’s 510 Day. The dining room at Sequoyah Country Club in East Oakland was packed with friends and supporters of our work and our community. They heard Teens on Target youth leader Xavier Tillery (pictured below) talk about his experiences in the program.

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