Mission and Vision
RYSE was born out of a youth organizing movement initiated in 2000 in response to a string of homicides amongst youth near Richmond High School that galvanized students to take action to address the violence and lack of safety at school and in the community. Students organized vigils and community forums with over 1,500 youth and community members, met and worked with local officials and stakeholders on a comprehensive assessment of youth-identified priorities and solutions, culminating in the RYSE Youth Center (RYSE), which opened its doors on October 18, 2008.
Programming at RYSE is anchored in the belief that young people have the lived knowledge and expertise to identify, prioritize, and direct the programs, activities, and services necessary to benefit their well being.
Programming at RYSE is anchored in the belief that young people have the lived knowledge and expertise to identify, prioritize, and direct the programs, activities, and services necessary to benefit their well being.
Theory of Change
RYSE’s approach is strength-based and resilience building. RYSE supports the healthy development of young people through a holistic approach that engages participants in programs and services grounded in the principles of youth leadership and social justice. RYSE allows for multiple points of entry and engagement for young people in a manner that feels like “one program.” RYSE provides programming both on-site at our facility and off-site in the community.
One of the most notable descriptors of trauma-informed care is shifting the question of what is wrong with you to what happened to you. Yet, only asking what happened continues to render the problem in/on the individual, overemphasizing behavioral change while foregoing the ever-needed scrutiny and emphasis on systems change.
One of the most notable descriptors of trauma-informed care is shifting the question of what is wrong with you to what happened to you. Yet, only asking what happened continues to render the problem in/on the individual, overemphasizing behavioral change while foregoing the ever-needed scrutiny and emphasis on systems change.
Creating Beloved Community: RYSE’s Key Learnings and Offerings
We acknowledge and address the social ecologies of violence and dehumanization
We work across roles and systems
We avoid simplistic moral frames
We heal ourselves, together
- Name and validate young people’s experiences.
- Tell young people we love them.
- Foster social emotional learning AND socio-political development.
- Make race/ism and positional power central to the work.
We work across roles and systems
- Prioritize people not programs.
- Implement radical inquiry.
- Commit to healthy struggle and vulnerability.
We avoid simplistic moral frames
- Good vs. bad coping.
- Perpetrator vs. victim.
- Zero tolerance policies.
- “At-risk” frames.
- Overemphasis on behavioral change.
We heal ourselves, together
- Practice self-care AND collective healing.
- Discuss our wounds, make repairs.
- Bear witness and be adaptive.
- Celebrate, laugh, and have fun.