As New York City Starts a New ‘Advance Peace’ Model, YFC Prays With And Encourages Positive Changes For Youth With Criminal Pasts
August 23, 2021
NEW YORK CITY— A recent Fox News article highlighted a new initiative New York City has introduced in regards to their juvenile detention program. The new “Advance Peace” model seeks to encourage young criminals to change their ways through financial incentives.
While local politicians seem eager to implement this new plan, critics of the model fear that the plan is too generous, dangerous and enables violent offenders.
A similar outreach to troubled youth is already happening in New York City. The Youth For Christ (YFC, www.yfc.net) NYC Chapter recently began a curriculum for youth in local detention centers. The YFC NYC Chapter’s Juvenile Justice Campaign launched a 6-week Entrepreneur Program on July 19th, which is tackling issues like financial literacy, LLC, taxes, bookkeeping, investing, and more.
The purpose of YFC’s Entrepreneur Program is to bring leaders from New York City to come and speak to kids in detention centers and in the community to help stop the cycle of incarceration. Rather than getting dragged back into the same destructive pattern, YFC is reaching out to youth in need and providing them with the tools necessary for a life free from criminal activity.
Just this summer, YFC NYC was part of the transformational story of one young man who had been through ups and downs, releases and re-arrests. According to one YFC leader, “We laughed together, struggled together, cried together, and last week we celebrated together as he became just the second person in his program’s history to graduate from high school while inside. He never quit!”
Stories like this are what inspire the YFC team to continue making important connections with youth from all walks of life. Jacob Bland, president and CEO of YFC, stated, “It is always so encouraging to hear about what God is doing with YFC all across the country. There are 11–19-year-olds who are facing crises like never before. I believe God has uniquely positioned YFC to help uncover God’s story of hope in the next generation, and we are honored to witness God stirring the hearts of youth across America.”
YFC NYC is committed to transforming the skills young people learn from the community that often times gets them incarcerated. YFC NYC is part of walking alongside young people through the pivotal moments and authentically living and showing the unconditional love of Christ in tangible ways.
YFC haschapters impacting thousands of communities across the nation that seek out and serve youth from all walks of life. Many teens are silently struggling through a variety of challenging issues—and now they see the living power of a loving God. YFC encourages staff and volunteers to be good news while also sharing the stories of the Good News of Jesus. It involves building relationships through the ups and downs of everyday life in order to lead people to Christ.
YFC has been a pillar of missional ministry since 1944, when the Rev. Billy Graham served as YFC’s first full-time staff member. Since then, Youth For Christ has continued to be both a rural and urban ministry on mission, and it is always about the message of Jesus. YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement. Youth For Christ operates in over 100 nations and has approximately 140 chapters that impact communities across America.
Visit the Youth For Christ media page here. Learn more about Youth For Christ at its website, www.yfc.net, Facebook and Instagram pages, Twitter feed @yfcusa or on Vimeo.
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To interview a Youth For Christ representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Jeff Tolson, 610.584.1096, ext. 108, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.