Youth-Led Change

Offers a Life Skills Program for homeless young adults aged 18–35 to develop skills for obtaining and maintaining stable, permanent housing. Includes job readiness training, counseling, youth groups, and assistance with housing and income; served 50 individuals in 2025.

Operates the only certified emergency youth shelter in Schenectady County for youth aged 16–20, including teen parents and their children, who are homeless, runaways, or at risk of sexual exploitation. The 12-bed facility served 110 youth in 2025 and has capacity to serve 14- and 15-year-olds in special circumstances.

Operates an anti-trafficking program serving seven counties in New York State (Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington), providing intensive case management, counseling, referrals, and supportive services to survivors of sex and labor trafficking. Served more than 40 survivors in 2025.

Conducts trauma-centered, street-based outreach to runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth ages 12–21 in Schenectady County, including education on risks of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Reached approximately 500 youth in 2023 and served over 500 individuals in 2025 through outreach.

Offers free training on human trafficking identification and response to hospitals, law enforcement, human services agencies, and other organizations across the Capital Region and North Country.

Promotes the study and understanding of social and economic justice through published reports, including the 2025 End of Year Report, the 2024 Annual Report, and research from a delegation trip to Brazil on social movement strategies.

Advocated for the introduction of the Tenant Power Act in New York to strengthen tenant organizing and support tenant unions, and hosted the premiere of the documentary No One Is Safe to highlight the impacts of immigration enforcement on vulnerable communities.

Offers fellowship programs such as Art of Purpose, Craft of Strategy, and Take A Breath, and conducts the five-day Youth Organizing Institute for young leaders across NYC, focusing on political education, movement history, organizing skills, and collaborative campaign design.

Co-hosted a free public performance with BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! featuring Common and special guests to honor Harry Belafonte's legacy of justice and collective liberation, including recognition of Common as the 2025 Belafonte Fellow.

Published the report “A Gathering about Gatherings,” a reference guide based on practices shared at a collaborative retreat, to support organizing efforts.

Hosts recurring cultural events such as Salsa y Resistencia in the Bronx and May Day gatherings in Los Sures and Astoria, featuring music, poetry, political education, and community organizing to celebrate resistance, honor workers, and resist displacement and gentrification.

Hosted retreats and film series in 2023 to build momentum for future organizing efforts and strengthen social justice movements.

Organizes Liberation Summer 2026, a citywide program across New York City featuring performances, workshops, and community gatherings to advance collective liberation.

Produces a short documentary series documenting the cultural history and community of Jimmy's Corner, a boxing bar in Times Square.

Operates two physical spaces in Ossining, NY for organizers, leaders, and artists to gather and collaborate, hosting convenings, workshops, and retreats for up to 50 day participants and 15 overnight, with plans to open a multigenerational community, arts, training, and cultural production hub in 2026.

Engages in political dialogue with decision-makers in Germany, the EU, and East Africa to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and increased funding for human rights-based development cooperation. Includes advocacy on youth-friendly health services and global health policy.

Implements programs to end gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation and child marriage, and promotes bodily self-determination for women and girls in East Africa.

Funds research trips for journalists, bloggers, and vloggers to sub-Saharan Africa to produce reports on population dynamics, global health, and gender (in)justice, supporting public awareness and advocacy.