Jeff Fleischer: CEO of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., January 2010

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversey.
- Dr. Martin Luther King

As we celebrate the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, let's reflect on these very current statistics:

• As of 2008 there are 39.1 million poor people in the United States;
• 8.2% are White, 20.5% are Hispanic and 24.7% are African American;
• 18% of youth under age 18 are living in poverty;
• As of mid year 2008, 4,777 African American Males per 100,000 US residents are residing in detention, compared to 1,760/100,000 for Hispanics and 727/100,000 for Whites;
• 2 million arrests are made of youth each year and up to 600,000 are admitted to secure detention. 2/3 of the youth are ethnic and racial minorities;
• 1/4 of the youth are labeled acutely mentally ill;
• 80% of girls detained report physical abuse and 50% report sexual abuse;
• 2/3 of the youth entering detention enter overcrowded, unsafe, sub standard facilities;
• Less than 1/3 of the youth entering detention are admitted for violent crimes;
• African Americans are disproportionally represented as both homocide victims and offenders;
• Victimization rates for African Americans are 6 times higher than for whites;
• 1 of 10 male high school dropouts are in jail vs. 1 in 35 male high school graduates;
• 1 of 4 young African American Males are incarcerated or under state supervision on an average day;
• The New York State Task Force on the Juvenile Justice System reports that 1600 youth under the age of 16 enter the system at a cost of $210,000/year/youth. They report a disproportional impact on youth of color;
• The Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics, just released, found 12% of young people in juvenile correction custody have been sexually abused one or more times, many by staff members. Some institutions with the highest rates of abuse are in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas; and
• The unemployment rate for the nation is 10%; for Hispanics 12.9% and for African Americans 16.2%.

Following a powerful and successful Civil Rights Movement in the 50's and 60's and the historic election of our first African American President, there is still so much more work to do towards obtaining equality and justice in our nation and abroad. The above depressing but dramatic and sobering stats regarding young people, incarceration, work and education places YAP in the center of the current struggle today.

Our mission, values and strategic plan exist to directly impact the discriminaton represented by the above facts. It is up to our leaders, staff, young people and their families to expose and highlight the discrimination in our communities and to offer and strategically organize for the implementation of solutions. Organizing to convince our policy makers to redirect resources from institutions and war, to our vulnerable communities and families is of highest importance. Offering solutions; empowering natural helpers in each community, changing systems so they don't disproportionally lock up people of color, developing alternatives to institutionalization, building capacity in community to work with the highest risk and most vulnerable families, working with schools to educate those that are least prepared, and putting youth and families to training programs and work, are the solutions. How we get to the solutions depends on how well we support and train our staff, empower our young people and families and develop relationships with system administrators, policy makers, legislators, judges and other community stakeholders. Achieving great outcomes in each program, gaining credibility and making meaningful connections with community stakeholders are essential to creating real change .

Some quotes of Dr. King come to mind:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

In addition to the wonderful work we all do providing direct services to young people, adults and families, we must identify and speak out about things that can and must change. We don't have to do it alone. We can organize with others and create powerful movements in each of our communities.

So let's use this day to learn new principles, techniques and strategies of Dr. King and other pioneers in the social justice movement and to be replenished and inspired to do more and better work.

"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."

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