What do you get when you add Harlem's positive youth and a bunch of helpful counselors working together to help the community?

Youth Action Program is based at 220 E. 106 Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Among many Harlem based organizations, this is one seems very helpful to young students of color.

YAP was started by a Jewish woman named Dorothy Stoneman who taught in a Harlem school about 19 years ago. Students complained about run-down building situations which are still seen today. She came up with the idea of renovating a building with the students.

Buildings were probably bought for "a dollar or even less," said Oswald Thomas, the program's coordinator. "Given the circumstances of the buildings... sometimes the city would even donate them".

From this beginning, Dorothy and her students went on to renovate other buildings, eventually getting their due recognition and expanding into a national non-profit organization called Youth Build Network. This national program is really a "web" of 108 programs nationwide and its headquarters is based in Boston, Mass. Funding for the program is received through the H.U.D grant and circulates 30 million dollars to it's smaller programs. Other contributions are received by private organizations such as the Ford and Mott Foundations.

A more personal depth was seen by Harlemlive when the student leader Crystal Christian exclaimed, "This program has given me a sense of family. It's shown me respect, teamwork and most of all, fun." The program offers high school dropouts, and /or unemployed students a place to get your G.E.D and employment. Each year, 1000 students graduate and 95% go on to higher education such as college.

Mr. Thomas later added that it was the ending of a 900 hr cycle of community service (among other services) and for this, the participants receive a part time scholarship for college as well as 248$ dollars bi weekly in order to meet personal needs. All those who seek to apply must submit an application given at their offices, and must come in for an interview, take a test demonstrating 4th grade or higher level of reading, and attend an orientation where only 60 people are chosen. He also stated that Y.A.P. is working with President Bill Clinton in trying to lobby Congress for 100 million dollars, to expand YAP from 108 programs to a 1000 programs.

Today, the Youth Action Program provides help for young people in the areas of unemployment, schooling for high school dropouts, and hands on training with construction due to their continuing efforts of renovating Harlem's run-down buildings. These buildings are then used as permanent homes for low income families and/or homeless people. They also run a drug prevention program for students ages 6-14 at Manhattan Center High School where a truancy prevention program is also held.

Youth Action Program's phone number is: 212 860 8170

For further information on youth programs check out these links:

• School Discovery
• Catalog Forgiving
• Health