Overview
YES Bed Stuy is a collaborative of nonprofits, local colleges, and business intermediaries aimed at building stronger pathways to education and employment outcomes for young adults, with an emphasis on youth voice, skills training, and credentials.
The Challenge
At the time of the YES Bed Stuy’s first convening in 2018, Bedford-Stuyvesant was home to one of New York City’s highest rates of out-of-school, out-of-work young adults. The community was in need of more services aimed specifically at young adults aged 18–24 and innovative solutions to connect young adults to work and education. Community stakeholders highlighted the following challenges in Bedford-Stuyvesant at the time:
29%
of young Adults were out-of-school and out-of-work
9%
higher poverty rate than NYC as a whole
4,588
out-of-school, out-of-work young adults
32%
OF YOUNG ADULTS RECEIVING SNAP BENEFITS
The Approach
YES Bed Stuy’s mission is to pursue equity and to empower all young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant to achieve long-term success in the workforce. This community-led, demand-driven workforce partnership offers a coordinated set of skills training, educational services, and wraparound support services to help young adults secure jobs in growing areas of the economy. It also works with employers to streamline their hiring processes and better connect job seekers to career-ladder jobs.
YES Bed Stuy is committed to:
- Preparing and connecting Bedford-Stuyvesant youth to local and in-demand jobs and meaningful careers by increasing their educational attainment, awareness of opportunities, and training.
- Designing an integrated community-based system—based on the input of young adults—that offers access to a wide range of programs, services, customized supportive services, and leadership opportunities with an eye toward job connection, career growth, and long-term financial stability and economic mobility.
- Promoting young adults’ job retention and advancement by providing the necessary support to address the challenges that they and their employers face.
- Identifying, engaging, and partnering with employers who commit to hiring YES Bed Stuy’s trained and supported youth.
To achieve these goals, YES Bed Stuy focuses on the following:
- Youth Leadership Committee that puts young adults’ voices front and center with regard to the collaborative’s activities.
- Centralized Community Hub, a community space where young adults, particularly those who are out of school and out of work, can …
- Providing customized, one-on-one case management and service planning for young adults.
- Ensuring a dedicated coordinator for education, workforce, and supportive services in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community.
- Organizing and distributing a pool of job vacancies with local employer partners shared across YES Bed Stuy partners for a broader reach in sectors and job opportunities for young adults.
Visit the YES! Bed Stuy Website
Impact
Since its launch in 2021, YES Bed Stuy has worked with stakeholders in the community—over 40 leaders from multiple sectors—to build stronger pathways for young adults to access economic opportunities through education, training, employment, and wraparound services.
Our Partners
Related Publications
JobsFirstNYC is proud to announce the launch of its fifth community place-based partnership, YES Bed Stuy. The partnership had its official launch on Thursday, June 3, 2021, during a virtual event that brought together the 13 organizations that make up the steering committee and the partnership’s Youth Committee members, along with additional community-based organizations and […]
Bedford Stuyvesant is a hub of culture, talent, and opportunity. While Brooklyn millennials grew up admiring Bed Stuy legends like Biggie Smalls, Yasiin Bey, Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim—and memorized countless songs dedicated to highlighting the ups and downs that Bed Stuy residents experience every day—their beloved neighborhood has seen drastic changes leaving young adults today questioning […]
In the wake of the Great Recession, a strong economy made it easier for young adults to find jobs, leading to significant declines in the number and share of New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 who were out of school and out of work from 22 percent (187,588 young adults) in 2010, to 16 percent […]
On Tuesday, April 18th JobsFirstNYC partnered with Council Member Robert Cornegy’s office to hold a town hall meeting for workforce providers and stakeholders focused on District 36, comprised of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn exploring workforce and career options for out-of-school, out-of-work young adults in the District. JobsFirstNYC found that Bedford-Stuyvesant continues to be one of the […]
