Youth Center

The Youth Center provides a full range of educational and wraparound support services. It serves 120 youth and young adults aged 14-24 who live in Rhode Island’s East Bay. The program also offers job coaches who support youth to achieve their educational and/or vocational goals. The Youth Center works with local high schools and has partnership agreements with schools in East Providence and Newport. A Youth Career Specialist, whose office is located at the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, works with the Chamber and area businesses to find jobs and internships for the youth and young adults served. This creative and unique partnership also addresses employment needs of Newport County businesses.

People We Serve

The Youth Center helps youth get the support and services necessary to succeed. Services are designed to meet participants’ individual needs. These may include short-term tutoring, in-depth work readiness training, placement in an internship with eventual placement in unsubsidized employment, or long-term occupational skills training. Youth Center participants must be Rhode Island residents between 14 and 24 years of age. More intensive services are available through two specific funding sources. We receive DCYF funding for current and former foster care youth that enter care (even for one day) at or after the age of 16. EBCAP also receives support from Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding, for which enrollment is income dependent.

Key Features

• Intake and assessment: application for services, vocational interest inventory, and academic assessment
• Job skills services: writing resumes, completing job applications, and conducting mock interviews
• Academic services: GED instruction, remediation, and GED certification
• Contextual learning: how academic skills apply to the working world
• Case management: facilitation of services and referral to outside providers
• Follow-up services: guidance and counseling to ensure goals are achieved once services are completed
• Job readiness and work experience: placement and assistance in occupational skills training, internships, and employment
• Summer Jobs Program

Location(s) of the Program

Hours of Operation

Hours at our locations vary, but general hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

How to Enroll

For more information on eligibility requirements, please contact the Youth Center at 401-437-1000 ext. 1192.

How You Can Volunteer

The Youth Center is seeking new work-based learning opportunities for youth in a wide variety of sectors including business, arts, culture, local government, and non-profit agencies among others. If you are a business owner, non-profit organization, or know of an organization that can help, please contact one of the staff members listed above.

To provide the most meaningful and impactful learning opportunities, the Youth Center needs additional funds for youth wages, internships, and workshops. This allows youth to participate in supported subsidized employment placements where they can build their employability skills and not experience financial obstacles to doing so. Youth and their families also receive support from EBCAP’s case management, health, and social services teams to address any obstacles to full participation in the program. Donations may be made online (note “Youth Center” in the comments) or by mailing a check marked “Youth Center” in the memo to: East Bay Community Action Program, Attn: Finance Dept., 19 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840.