Youth Development and Empowerment
We build capacity for youth to design their own programs, research and evaluation projects.
Featured
Project
Queens Community House
Hot Spots: Youth Engagement Playbook
In 1984, Queens Community House developed an innovative outreach approach called “Hot Spots” with the aim of engaging youth in their programs. This approach focused upon identifying places within the community where young people were hanging out to build relationships with youth, connect them with services and engage them in programs. In 2022, after a decrease in youth engagement due to the pandemic, Queens Community House recognized the need to expand the approach to virtual environments.
Our Contributions
Facilitate participatory meetings with an intergenerational committee of adult staff and youth from Queens Community House to co-design a youth engagement playbook, or Hot Spots v2.0.
Support the design of a survey by youth for youth from Queens to learn where youth hangout in community and online, their interests, future plans, desired programs and challenges to their participation in youth programs.
Design the youth engagement playbook based upon this research, including a training manual and presentation materials.
The youth engagement playbook focuses on six stages (in person and online): outreach , awareness, consideration, enrollment, retention and referral.
Haiti Case Study
Youth-led Participatory Assessment Toolkit for Education in Emergencies
Example Publications
Queens Community House. (2024). Hot Spots: Youth Engagement Handbook.
NYC Service. (2017-2022). Evaluation of NYC Service Youth Leadership Council Initiative. Office of the Mayor of New York City, in partnership with Hello Insight.
Wridt, P. (2018). Young People’s Participation in Programme Design, Monitoring and Evaluation. Chapter in Handbook of Adolescent Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy, Edited by Jennifer E. Lansford, and Prerna Banati, Sponsored by UNICEF Office of Research and the Society for Child Development.
UNICEF. (2018). UNICEF Guidance Note: Adolescent Participation in UNICEF Monitoring and Evaluation. UNICEF Evaluation Office and Programme Division, Adolescent Development and Participation Unit, New York. Co-authored with Sophie Martin-Simpson, with support from Tina Tordjman-Nebe, Kathleen Letshabo, Jumana Haj-Ahmad, Tamara Rusinov, and Fabio Friscia.
Wridt, P. (2011). East Harlem Case Study: Child Friendly Communities. View the youth blog and award winning video of this effort.