Year-round mentoring, support and enrichment program for children with incarcerated parents

The goal of Project Avary is to break the familial cycles of violence and incarceration by introducing children of incarcerated parents to educational, recreational and social opportunities that may be missing from their lives due to their circumstances. Project Avary consists of several components: four weeks of summer camp; adventure days, and offer social skill development, life skills, creative arts, physical fitness, nutrition, natural history and environmental education, and a year round mentoring program. Staff and volunteers are trained in mediation, conflict resolution, violence prevention and anger management with a special emphasis on racial, ethnic and gender. Project Avary also offers a leadership development program for older participants ages 13-17 and encourages those youth who continue with the program an opportunity to become 'counselors-in-training,' after they age out of the regular program. Of the participants in the program will: increase their knowledge and skills in life skills; improve in school attendance; decrease in behavioral problems at school and home, increase awareness of educational and occupational opportunities. The ultimate outcome of Project Avary is to achieve a long term impact that reduces the likelihood of the youth participating in the program from following the cycle of violence and incarceration experienced by their family members. NCA/NCF

NCA/NCF