Harris County Youth Collective and Community Collaboration Partners Focus on Transformation for Impacted Communities

March 12, 2021 

For immediate release – Harris County Youth Collective and Community Collaboration Partners Focus on Transformation for Impacted Communities 

Harris County Youth Collective is excited to announce the launch of a new youth organizing strategy focused on communities most in need of closer collaboration between juvenile justice and child protective systems. The new entity is made possible by generous funding from the Houston Endowment.  

During 2020, HCYC, like many other organizations, had to shift and adapt work to an environment that was safe during the global pandemic. While we moved to hosting virtual meetings with Residential  Treatment Centers and other partners, we were able to fulfill a planned commitment for 2020 supporting other community organizations that work directly with youth and families. 

As a result, Harris County Youth Collective ended the year receiving an investment that builds on its own innovative work. As part of the Houston Endowment’s commitment to supporting Black leaders and organizers, HCYC received $750,000 to launch a Youth-Led Organizing Entity built upon the work of Harris  County Youth Collective’s Youth and Community Collaboration efforts, led by Dieter Cantu and the work of the Youth and Community Specialists.  

The new entity includes programming dedicated to organizing in communities most affected by the juvenile justice and child protective systems, aimed at including the voices of youth and young adults in program development and design. In addition, it emphasizes employing individuals with lived experience in the juvenile justice and child protective systems to push toward true system transformation.  

HCYC plans to use the funds to build the infrastructure for this work, increase staffing, and redesign organizing efforts to focus on issues that matter most to young people in Houston and Harris County.  More information on the launch of the new organization and opportunities to engage is expected in  Summer 2021. 

Background on HCYC programs 

HCYC established the Youth and Community Collaboration Fund as a field of interest fund in the Greater  Houston Community Foundation early in 2020. The fund’s intent is to support organizations working directly with youth and families impacted by the child protective and/or juvenile justice systems. We envisioned the fund as a way for HCYC staff organizing in communities to connect, build power, and infuse resources to those organizations on the ground supporting youth and families with current involvement,  supporting families to prevent deeper involvement or uplifting voices of youth and families with lived experience to advocate for systems change. While HCYC staff was unable to organize on the ground in communities in 2020 the same way it had in 2019, the organizations that received funding in 2020 still came as a result of working with HCYC Youth and Community Specialist staff.  

The four organizations supported in 2020 had two distinct areas of support: community-based power building and innovative legal advocacy. For community-based power building, the Youth and Community  Collaboration Fund supported Montrose Grace Place and Urban Community Network. Montrose Grace  Place is using them to develop a youth-led board focused on policy design and decision-making for the organization. Urban Community Network is using the funds to expand its operations to increase parent voice within communities across Houston to advocate for families involved in the juvenile justice system. 

For innovative legal advocacy, the Fund supported Foster Care Advocacy Center (FCAC) and Juvenile and  Children’s Advocacy Project (JCAP). FCAC is using the fund to expand its parent representation and develop and provide oversight for its new youth partner program, modeled after its successful parent partner program. JCAP is using the funds to support operations in its juvenile law clinic for youth with dual system involvement and ensuring that all dual status youth have their records sealed. 

To learn more about HCYC, our work, partner, and staff please visit our website at  www.CA4Y.org. For questions or press inquiries please contact Kelly Opot, Executive Director,  at Kelly.opot@harriscountyyc.org