Every youth who graduates from a Prison Empowerment Program and is released needs someone to walk with him and help him/her address issues that might come up in his/her business or personal life. This role is critically important, as our youths’ value the input and expertise and the life experience of all our executive volunteers. Our mentors are committed and passionate about the young people they serve can make an enormous difference in their lives. The mentoring relationship can often begin while the inmate is still inside and meets an executive volunteer at our Planned events in prison. Their relationship is established and then continues once released from prison. Some mentoring relationships have also grown out of the youths that serve as Business Plan Advisors.
Our training is dynamic, interactive, and educational and centered on best practices sharing topics, e.g., leadership development, reusable skills, gender, social Integration, and more. Our training programs are designed and tailored to meet the present challenges of Today’s youth.
Young entrepreneurs are at the frontlines in the battle to preserve and restore our economy. While policymakers have prioritized big business for years, these same policymakers now realize that giant corporations will not be the key to saving our economy; it is the startups and small businesses that form every Community community’s heart. In response to this crisis, we focus on the elements of our broader policy framework, called Dreamers, to be responsive to what new and small business owners urgently need Today to keep their doors open. We promote creativity and innovation in the lives of young people. At PEP, innovation is critical to empowering young people. It is key to the program’s results. The very structure of our program, the social development, the education for sustainable development, the mentoring, and the continued post-release support are innovative.
We work with development stakeholders to support a wide range of youth-led initiatives, from innovative to experiential projects that build leadership, provide better healthcare, and increase knowledge about the environment.
Using the “Rights Base Approach,” we address issues that undermine young people’s fundamental rights and freedom. We engage with young people as equal partners by allowing them to participate in public life as advocates, researchers, volunteers, community developers, peer educators, trainers, entrepreneurs, teachers, young leaders, expand and reinvigorate policies and programs to meet the needs of youths.
We also offer first-hand opportunities to encourage cross-cultural exchange for young professionals around the world. The drive to empower innovation carries over to youths. Most of our agents4change are accomplishing objectives that they never thought possible. They see a future with transformation, hope restored, and families rebuild. We encourage our men to think differently and embrace their inherent creativity and ability to innovate.