Youth Thrive

Youth Thrive is a community-based collaborative comprised of individuals and organizations working to create positive change for Wake County youth (ages 5-18). By ensuring an effective and unifying partnership, Youth Thrives seeks to provide a space for communication, alignment and sharing of resources to better serve our young people. When communi... ty concern arose after an increase in youth homicides in Wake County, community conversations were led by then Mayor Pro Tem, Dr. James West. As a champion of the cause of ensuring all children can thrive in a healthy environment, Youth Thrive, Dr. West sought to bring key stakeholders together to determine how to solve emerging problems facing Wake County youth. Local community foundation, The John Rex Endowment, provided a generous investment of $1.25 million dollars to establish a collaborative that would increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for youth. Funding began in March 2011 and will continue until March 2016. Wake County prides itself on being a great place to raise children. It has a vibrant business community and is home to North Carolina's state capitol. Despite all of the positive quality of life factors present in Wake County, there are issues that need attention, resources and efforts to ensure all young people, no matter what zip code they live in, can become thriving adults. Today, Youth Thrive continues to serve Wake County by being the collaborative body inviting any and every person to the table to be a part of a common agenda that speaks to a shared vision for community change. In doing so, Youth Thrive also seeks to determine shared measures that are geared toward the alignment of efforts and consistent, long-term results. While a collaborative effort can often surface where service gaps exist, it is Youth Thrive's position to increase mutually reinforcing activities across agencies and organizations serving youth. Where gaps exist, Youth Thrive seeks to find an understanding of how existing or potential resources can be sought to catch ...Read More