"The Communities Empowering Native Youth (CENY) Project is a regional capacity building initiative funded by the Administration for Native Americans, U.S. Dpt. of Health and Human Services and administered by the National Indian Justice Center. Sustainable programs that respond to the unique needs of Native youth and reflect Native community cultural values can be encouraged locally with the right support. CENY works to discover specific risk factors that make Native youth in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino Counties vulnerable to violence, gang involvement and child abuse and neglect, while also identifying protective factors that contribute to youth resiliency. Our goal is to provide Capacity building training and technical assistance that can activate and enhance existing community programs and protective factors to counteract individual, family, peer and community level risks. The National Indian Justice Center works collaboratively with the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, Sherwood Valley Rancheria's Koolakai Learning Center and the Ukiah Unifed School District to implement the project. During the first year, we will work on conducting an organizational baseline needs assessment, establish a strategic plan for the collaboration while developing organizational capacity to meet the needs of tribal youth served by the programs."
Retrieved from www.nijc.org/CENY.html
