Young Adult Opportunity Initiative YAOI

New Settlement’s Young Adult Opportunity Initiative (YAOI) enables opportunity youth from our low-income Bronx community to achieve their employment and educational goals.

Since 2005, YAOI has successfully prepared, guided and placed over 1,200 out-of-school opportunity youth ages 16-24 in education and employment opportunities that help them get their lives back on track for long-term self-sustainability and success.  With current funding from the Tiger Foundation, Pinkerton Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation and others, YAOI provides a series of positive-intervention services to 310 young adults annually: 160 enrolled in our one-year intensive program and ongoing follow-up services to another 150-plus recent program graduates.  YAOI begins with a 3 month intensive “core program” followed by 3-month employment internships and/or 10-month enrollment in HSE programming offered on-site.

The YAOI program is unique in its community centered, youth development focused program model that combines a positive youth development approach and a sector-specific career pathways approach. Our program model begins with the development of individual workplans and goal setting around education, employment, and supportive needs. New Settlement utilizes a career pathways approach that will deliver programs that emphasize career progression, rather than simply job placement, and that are informed by employer demand for both hard skills and workplace competencies. New Settlement incorporates work-based learning opportunities, including internships and on-the-job training.

We have built strong partnerships with employers and job training programs from the public and private sector; with NYC DoE District 79  Pathways to Graduation Program provide on-site HSE classes, and our College Access Center to guide YAOI participants and support them in college.