What Programs and Services Does Youth Alive Offer?
Youth Alive is an Oakland-based community organization that provides violence prevention, intervention, healing, and advocacy services. Its programs fall into four areas: prevention (Teens on Target), intervention (Violence Interrupters, Caught in the Crossfire, Hometown Heroes Fellowship, Pathways), healing (Khadafy Washington Project, Counseling Services), and advocacy (Legislative Action, Advocacy for Change). The organization states its wraparound services are always free, and it describes itself as community-based—not city government and not the police.
Prevention: Teens on Target
Teens on Target trains high school students to educate their peers about violence prevention, mediate conflicts, and advocate with elected officials and the public for safer communities. If you are a high school student or work with one, this is the entry point for youth-led prevention work.
Intervention: Mediating Conflicts and Defusing Tensions
Youth Alive's intervention programs share a common function—reaching people during or immediately after a crisis to stop retaliation and connect them to support.
| Program | What it does | Who it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Violence Interrupters | Navigates community tension, defuses individual and group conflicts, and stops violence before it starts | Community members in active or emerging conflict |
| Caught in the Crossfire | Meets survivors of violence at their hospital bedside and provides practical and logistical services to support healing and discourage retaliation | Survivors of violence, reached in the hospital |
| Hometown Heroes Fellowship | A workforce development initiative building the next generation of credible messengers and community leaders in violence prevention | People entering the violence-prevention field |
| Pathways | Connects at-promise youth with experienced Intervention Specialists for post-release services: educational assistance, legal aid, employment support, mentoring, and life skills training | At-promise youth, particularly those returning from incarceration |
The key distinction: Violence Interrupters work on conflicts before they escalate, while Caught in the Crossfire works with people who have already been injured. Pathways is the longer-term reentry and support track.
Healing: Support After Violence
- Khadafy Washington Project — serves nearly 100% of families of Oakland homicide victims with financial, emotional, and practical support after losing a loved one to violence.
- Counseling Services — healing-centered individual and group counseling sessions for people impacted by trauma and violence.
If you are a family member of someone killed in Oakland, the Khadafy Washington Project is the most direct route to support. For ongoing trauma from violence, Counseling Services is the relevant program.
Advocacy: Changing Policy to Change Lives
Youth Alive uses its 30 years of experience addressing violence and serving victims and survivors of crime to develop policy solutions at the local, statewide, and national level. Its advocacy work is centered on the experiences of youth, clients, and staff, creating platforms to share their stories so policymakers, community leaders, and supporters better understand the human impact.
How to Decide Where to Start
- You're a high school student or educator → Teens on Target
- You're in or near an active conflict → Violence Interrupters
- You or someone you know was just injured by violence → Caught in the Crossfire (hospital-based)
- You're returning from incarceration or need reentry support → Pathways
- You lost a family member to homicide in Oakland → Khadafy Washington Project
- You need counseling after trauma → Counseling Services
- You want to work in violence prevention → Hometown Heroes Fellowship
Each program page on youthalive.org includes a "Learn more" link with contact and referral details. Because services are described as free and community-run, cost is not a barrier to reaching out.