Enhance

2. ENHANCE: Building Capacity and Resilience
Impact on Poverty
    •    Asset Development: Builds both tangible skills (job readiness, entrepreneurship) and intangible assets (social networks, mentorship connections) that create economic mobility
    •    Resource Navigation: Enhances youth ability to identify and access available community resources, scholarships, and opportunities
    •    Resilience Building: Develops psychological resources to withstand economic hardship while working toward long-term goals
Impact on Violence
    •    Emotional Intelligence: Strengthens self-regulation and empathy skills that reduce reactive violence and increase positive social interactions
    •    Community Bonds: Creates supportive peer networks that offer alternatives to gang involvement and provide protection through connection
    •    Creative Expression: Enhances outlets for processing difficult emotions and experiences through arts, sports, and other constructive channels
Impact on Incarceration
    •    Positive Identity: Develops strong, positive self-concept that counters criminalized narratives often projected onto youth from marginalized communities
    •    Support Systems: Enhances family and community connections that provide alternatives to incarceration and support during reentry
    •    Accountability Practices: Introduces restorative justice approaches that enhance understanding of harm and responsibility without criminal consequences
Impact on Inequality
    •    Voice Amplification: Enhances communication skills and platforms for youth to advocate for themselves and their communities
    •    Leadership Development: Builds capacities that position youth to take on roles historically denied to members of their communities
    •    Network Expansion: Creates social bridges to resources, mentors, and institutions that have been structurally inaccessible