Special Projects

Microenterprise and Youth Violence Prevention Conference

In June 2005, NEDAP was the lead organizer of a national conference on microenterprise as a tool for youth violence prevention.  The event brought together groups from around the country for a two-day gathering on youth microenterprise as a tool for social justice, including: Homeboy Industries, Youth Biz, People's Grocery, Homeboyz Interactive, Added Value, and From Streets to Skills. The groups met for two days of working sessions and a fantastic panel featuring a broad range of youth microenterprise organizations.   A report on the conference is forthcoming - until then, read the profiles of the amazing groups on the panel below.

Participants at Microenterprise as a Tool for Youth Violence Prevention Conference

Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, CA

Homeboy Industries operates four businesses - Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Merchandising and Homeboy Graffiti Removal - that provide jobs, skills training and economic opportunity for former gang members and at risk youth in their community. Homeboy Industries is affiliated with Jobs for a Future, a youth center where gang members, at-risk youth and those recently released from detention facilities find assistance with job placement, tattoo removal, counseling, community service opportunities and case management services. Clients not ready to seek outside employment are hired either in the Jobs for a Future office or one of the Homeboy Businesses, where they receive on-the-job training.

Homeboyz Interactive in Milwaukee, WI

Homeboyz Interactive seeks to reduce gang violence and train young people for careers in Information Technology. Homeboyz Interactive is a web development business supporting digital media, software development, and network administration training programs. Homeboyz trains more than 20 young people each year and provides a source of employment.


YouthBiz in Denver, CO

For 13 years, YouthBiz has used youth-operated businesses and services as learning labs to develop business, leadership, and academic skills among inner-city teens. YouthBiz specifically targets young people in economically disenfranchised neighborhoods. It operates an on-site screen-printing business that has total gross sales of over $650,000. The school dropout rate of YouthBiz trainees is dramatically lower than that of their fellow students.


From Streets to Skills in Washington DC

Founded by a long-time activist and social worker helping homeless families, From Streets to Skills operates a Youth Custom Embroidery Business. The business trains young people on how to use technology to design and create high-quality embroidered clothing and accessories. Young people create their own designs on their computer and then reproduce them on clothes, towels, aprons and other accessories for sale. From Streets to Skills seeks to inspire young people who are often without hope to develop opportunities for themselves.


Added Value in Brooklyn, NY
Added Value's mission is to promote the sustainable development of Red Hook by nurturing a new generation of young leaders. They work towards this goal by creating opportunities for the youth of South Brooklyn to expand their knowledge base, develop new skills and positively engage with their community through the operation of a socially responsible urban farming enterprise. For the past two and a half years Added Value has trained more than 30 young people, founded the Red Hook Farmers' Market and helped to revitalize Coffey Park.

People's Grocery in Oakland, CA

People's Grocery works on issues of food justice with young people. The organization has three main focuses to its work: urban agriculture; community education; and enterprise development. It sees enterprise development as part of its larger social justice mission of educating people about healthy eating and ensuring access to healthy food.