Youth Program

Youth Transformation Program

Employment & Education WAGEES 24
Kinship Cutz Kinship Grinds Healing Institute
SYSTEM-IMPACTED YOUTH

 

Inside Custody and Beyond Every Youth Is Sacred. Every Youth Deserves a Chance to Build Their Future. Project Kinship meets young people where they are—including inside Juvenile Hall—and continues walking alongside them as they return home and reconnect with their families, schools, and communities.

 

Young people involved in the juvenile justice system can face enormous challenges as they navigate school, family, employment, mental health, substance use, and the transition home. Too often, support begins only after release. We believe the relationship should begin sooner.

 

Through our Youth Transformation Program, Project Kinship builds trusted relationships with youth inside Juvenile Hall, the Youth Guidance Center, and the Youth Leadership Academy—and continues that support beyond custody.

Our approach is rooted in connection, healing, accountability, and opportunity. We see young people beyond their circumstances. We recognize their inherent worth, strengths, and potential, and walk alongside them as they build a future rooted in connection and possibility.

 

What We Do. We support young people to:
  • Build trusted relationships with caring adults and Credible Messengers
  • Navigate reentry through individualized case management and advocacy
  • Access mental health and substance use support
  • Develop skills for managing emotions, conflict, and relationships
  • Reconnect with school and pursue education and employment
  • Strengthen family relationships and parenting skills
  • Build financial literacy, life skills, and personal development
  • Connect to positive community, resources, and opportunities
  • Create a vision for their future and develop the support to pursue it
Why This Work Matters
Reentry is not a moment. It is a journey.
By engaging youth while they are in custody and continuing to support them after release, Project Kinship creates consistency and trusted relationships that help young people navigate the challenges of returning home.

 

Our work is about more than helping a young person leave custody. It is about helping them reconnect, rebuild, and recognize the possibilities ahead.We do not define young people by where they have been. We see them for who they are and walk alongside them toward who they can become.

Inside custody, we build connection. After release, we build opportunity. In the community, we build belonging. Every Youth Is Sacred. Every youth deserves a chance to build their future.
Two young people, seen from behind, holding hands and forming a heart shape with their arms by a green pond in a lush natura…

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Get Support

Returning home from juvenile facilities requires a fresh start backed by real support, strong guidance, and community connection. The Youth Transition Program provides young adults with trusted Credible Messenger mentors, mental health support, life skills coaching, and direct pathways to school and employment. If you are on formal probation, speak with your Orange County Probation Officer about a referral today to start building your personalized path forward.