Get To Know Us

Who are we? | Our Mission | Strategies

Who are we?

The Youth For Youth Partnership — an initiative of Love Our Children USA, a national non-profit working to put an end to child abuse and violence, is a group of volunteer youth from across America offering support and friendship to abused youths. Together with psychology trained adult supervisors, the partnership is here to listen to abused youth, or those with knowledge of abuse who are afraid to go to adults or authorities to report it. Youth peers will encourage abused youth to report cases of abuse and make the reporting a more supportive experience. Qualified youth volunteers and mentors will also be a resource for abused youth, helping and advising them. Members of the Youth For Youth Partnership are volunteer young people ages 16-24, selected on the basis of school referrals, interest, education, grades, and/or experience in mentoring, or working with youth. Applicants are screened and their references are checked prior to being accepted and assigned as Youth Peers. They are trained by youth supervisors educated in psychology.

Our Mission

The Youth For Youth Partnership, an initiative of Love Our Children USA, connects volunteer youth mentors who want to be part of the solution, abused youths and the power of the Internet. Through the Youth For Youth Partnership, volunteer young people mentor their peers who have been abused, or who are at-risk of abuse. By listening to abused and at-risk youths, sharing information about child abuse and violence, making the experience of reporting abuse a more supportive one, and offering information, hope, resources, and referrals – abused and at-risk youths are empowered to talk about their abuse, school violence and other abuse and violence issues. Simultaneously, volunteer mentors become powerful advocates for other youths and themselves … becoming part of the solution …thereby, making a difference for ALL young people.

Strategies

Online Interventions - Recognizing that youth can often best help each other … especially when abused youth are not comfortable talking to adults about abuse, have no place to turn, blame themselves, suffer from poor self-esteem, or any youth who has questions, the Youth For Youth Partnership trains young people as online peer mentors who undergo training on the issues of child abuse, violence, dating violence, and school bullying and violence. Volunteers become knowledgeable about and sensitive to the safety needs of their peers.
When young people are actively involved in an experience they become more enriched, skilled and rewarded. Direct youth involvement offers great benefits to young people … both the volunteer mentors and the youth served by the program. Young people gain experience, rebuild self-confidence and as an organization, Love Our Children USA gains a fresh perspective on youth culture. The essence of youth involvement is a partnership between adults and young people who want to put an end to child abuse and violence … building the bridge from awareness to action and enabling us to develop a more effective outreach.

Why The Youth For Youth Partnership?

Each year over 3 million children are reported as victims of physical, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment, and death – and those are only the ones that were reported!

Of those 3 million plus kids, over 98,000 children were treated for sexual abuse.

In the USA, Children are more apt to die from abuse than from accidents.

Child abuse kills more than 3 children every day in America.

These are the statistics, but they don’t reflect the real children, adolescents, teens and youth adults who are the victims. The Youth For Youth Partnership presents the opportunity for peer to peer contact and support when only another young person can really understand. The Partnership reflects Love Our Children USA’s effort to place youth first in our efforts to help. 

How The Youth For Youth Partnership Works

Volunteer young people ages 16-24, are selected on the basis of school referrals, interest, education, grades, and/or experience in mentoring, or working with youth. Applicants are screened and their references are checked prior to being accepted and assigned as youth peers.

High school counselors and teachers can recommend "role model" students - known to mentor youth. Trained and supervised by graduate students in the field of psychology and child advocacy, volunteer peers who want to be part of the solution will listen to abused and at-risk youths, share information about child abuse and violence, support and encourage reporting abuse, and offer information, hope, resources, and referrals. This empowers abused and at-risk youths to talk about their abuse, school violence and other abuse and violence issues. Simultaneously, volunteer youths become powerful advocates for other youths and themselves.

The youth participate in training as individuals, but their involvement and training with the Youth For Youth Partnership is a collaborative effort and builds a community of peers. Without preaching or moral judgments, the Youth For Youth Partnership gives abused youth candid information and common sense guidance on how to stop and overcome abuse and violence.

Contact The Youth For Youth Partnership:

Via e-mail OR Toll Free Phone: 1.888.347.KIDS