OUR MISSION
Our mission is to empower youth to develop the skills, resources and resilience needed to live independently.
OUR VISION
We envision communities where youth homelessness is brief, rare, and non-recurring.
DONATE
Donate
to this great cause.
ABOUT US
Youth Improvement Services, Inc. is a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization providing safe and stable housing, life skills training, financial literacy training, workforce readiness skills training, job placement assistance, leadership development training and after school enrichment activities for at-risk and homeless youth.
Leadership Team
Executive Director - Deroll Barrett
Mr. Barrett is the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Improvement Services. He has over 15 years of experience working with youth in educational, residential and community settings. He has used his leadership skills to develop and lead teams for the past 7 years, in providing social development programs to youth. These highly effective programs have catered to up to 400 youth at a time. Deroll is experienced in leading operations for dormitories, recreation centers, student leadership programs, a child development center, and a Solo Parent program to ensure efficiency. He has managed a budget of $2 million per year in a federally funded program for at-risk youth. He earned a Bachelor of Education Degree from the University of the West Indies. He will use this experience and entrepreneurial ability to make YIS successful by providing high-quality services to program participants and stakeholders.
Our Programs & Services
Emergency Housing and Transitional Living Program
Youth and young adults may experience homelessness for various reasons. Some age out of foster care, some were forced to leave their former place of residence, while others left voluntarily because of family conflict or parental rejection. These young people have very little support. As a result, they often find themselves unprepared for the pressures and responsibilities of adult life. Our housing programs provide safe and secure accommodation, life skills training, career readiness training and financial literacy training, empowering youth to improve their well-being and economic mobility. We assist all youth; however, we focus on 18 to 24 year old youth of color and youth who identify as LGBTQ, since they disproportionately experience homelessness, poverty and marginalization.