OUR STORY
After decades of advocacy and providing services to opportunity youth, youth-serving community-based organizations throughout the state formalized their efforts by jointly founding the NJ OY Coalition. Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) now serves as the backbone of the Coalition and works to convene all member organizations and partners.
Since the time of the NJ OY Coalition's formal assembly, the Coalition has supported the passage and signing of both its targeted bills - the Disconnection Prevention Bill (S3080) and the NJ YouthBuild Act (S3781) - into law.
The Coalition remains committed not only to advocating in support of new legislation, but also to ensuring the Disconnection Prevention Bill and the NJ YouthBuild Act are implemented swiftly, and with fidelity.
ABOUT NOYN
Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) began its work in 2003 as YouthBuild Newark, a comprehensive youth and community development program addressing core issues facing low-income communities: education, housing, employment, crime prevention and leadership development. With over 20 years of experience, NOYN has established itself as New Jersey’s leading advocate of opportunity youth and has developed a body of replicable initiatives that are designed to address youth disconnection. These initiatives, organized around four key elements of Education, Workforce Development, Policy Advocacy, and Systems Building, build on our history with the YouthBuild model and work in tandem to accomplish NOYN’s mission to re-engage opportunity youth while drastically changing systems that inhibit their success.
As the convener of the NJ OY Coalition, NOYN is working to foster collaboration, align strategies across member organizations, and drive collective action to address the challenges opportunity youth face in order to create lasting impact in communities across New Jersey.
OUR MEMBER
ORGANIZATIONS
The NJ OY Coalition is a network of organizations who are committed to advocating for policy change to remove the barriers that inhibit opportunity youth’s success. The Coalition is dedicated to engaging in collective work to ensure that all young people throughout the state of New Jersey have the resources and supports they need to thrive.