Through Crime Prevention Vol. Youth play critical roles in YAR program governance, as well as in project design, direction, and completion. In the process, they gain leadership and other life skills, and a sense that they are needed and part of something greater than themselves.
Adults gain a new appreciation of youth as valuable community resources.
The program has grown and matured and set off on its own as a separate, though still connected, nonprofit organization. The Center for Youth as Resources and NCPC continue to operate as an extended family, sharing ideas, experiences, and resources, and collaborating on projects. To date, an estimated 200,000 youth have been involved in YAR, tackling a number of social issues related to health, housing, education, and the environment. The YAR program has been successfully implemented in a variety of settings, including urban, suburban, and rural areas, elementary schools, public housing communities, group homes, and juvenile correction facilities. The YAR program network comprises 70 sites in 22 states and three foreign countries.