The Vermont Youth Center Alliance (VYCA) was established in 2018 by Vermont Afterschool place for youth-serving professionals working with older youth and teens to connect with one another. Building on an earlier initiative called the Vermont Coalition of Teen Centers, VYCA is supported by Vermont Afterschool’s Youth Voice Coordinator, meets monthly, and has created a vibrant, collaborative forum for those running youth centers in Vermont.
The Vermont Youth Center Alliance (VYCA) anticipates a Vermont where all youth have access to safe, inclusive, non-judgemental people and places to go outside of their home or school where their thoughts are valued, their opinions are respected, and they are treated with dignity.
To promote the healthy development of Vermont youth by:
VYCA meets monthly via Zoom. The group discusses the practices as well as the underlying philosophy of running a youth center. We share resources, expertise, and educate and support one another. Doing drop-in based youth work, especially for many of our more rural programs in the state can feel isolating, but VYCA creates a space where program leaders and staff can come together to build community. Members are also in touch via an email list where the conversation can continue in between our monthly meetings. To sign up for the email list head to this link or contact us with any other questions (info@vermontafterschool.org).
Check out our Youth Center Program Start-up Guide. It contains an overview of the benefits of youth centers and covers the process through which a community can begin establishing a youth center in their area.
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