Youth Development

Whittier Enrichment Program (WEP)

Generational poverty, violence, unemployment, and crime are everyday realities that obstruct the healthy development of young people in our service area. WEP empowers young people to identify and act on the issues that most affect them: employment, self-esteem, life skills, police brutality, female gangs, teen homelessness, and alcoholism.

We recruit young people to join our Youth Advisory Board (YAB), empowering them to take on leadership roles and play an active role in improving their communities. The Board meets monthly and uses peer interviews, surveys, and research to develop peer training materials. Members co-lead workshops on leadership development and developing healthy habits concerning exercise, nutrition, safer sex practices, and mental health/substance abuse. The program also provides older participants with employment opportunities in the health care and outreach fields as Youth Peer Leaders.

Youth Violence Prevention

We engage about 1,000 young people annually through a variety of outreach programs and events. Whittier hosts an annual Youth Conference and offers psycho-social workshops with local schools.