UTEC

UTEC's mission and promise is to ignite and nurture the ambition of our most disengaged young people to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success. Founded in 1999 by youth in Lowell, UTEC now serves youth living in Lowell and Lawrence, MA. UTECs nationally recognized model begins with intensive street outreach and gang peacemaking,... reaching out to our most disconnected youth by meeting them where theyre at. Each young person in our target population (17-25, dropped out of school, gang or criminally involved, or pregnant/parenting) receives up to three years of intensive case management. UTEC provides workforce training through our social enterprises within a transitional employment framework. We provide alternative education through GED preparation or an alternative diploma program. Social justice and civic engagement are embedded in all programming, with special emphasis in our organizing and policymaking work, locally and statewide. UTECs three primary outcomes are: reduced criminal involvement, increased employability, and increased educational attainment. Driven by evidence-based data, the recidivism rate of UTEC-enrolled youth averages less than 15%, compared with a statewide average above 50%.Read More