Power and Promise
Youth participate in paid training programs that prepare them to successfully become mentors, community organizers, policy change advocates, and professional consultants for youth-serving organizations. These two-way, active forms of engagement allow youth to realize change in their immediate environment and begin to shift power to those most impacted.
Family Liberation
Assisting Indianapolis communities in establishing generational wellness by enrolling family units into services. Families work with Life Coaches to design and set development goals for themselves. Youth and families will be paid incentive stipends for completion of goals, participation in training/programs, obtaining advanced skills, or enrollment in post-secondary education. This approach allows for internal family motivation to be developed and removes barriers for communities to achieve success.
Black Male Mental Health
Partnering with local barbershops in Marion County, our agency used this safe space to bring mental health professionals to facilitate cross-generational conversations between Black men. As a result, VOICES reached over 75 youth and men in the initial year of this program, and it grew in 2022 to include wellness retreats for Black men.
Breaking the Vice Mentoring
VOICES saw a need to work with youth and families who weren’t connected through the juvenile justice or DCS system but were facing similar issues as their peers. This initiative provides services to “break the vices” of survival that have become normalized. Mentees are paired with mentors who’ve had lived experience but are provided formal training.