We envision a community where no youth is considered at- risk and where all are respected as valued members of society. To this end, we work to establish structured opportunities for adolescents to become safe, healthy, resilient, and confident community members.
The Impact
As a result of recent advocacy and awareness campaigns, we’ve made major investments in our issue areas.
Who We Are
DCAYA has over 120 members, who all share our vision for a District committed to all of its citizens.
Stay Involved
Parents, providers, and other youth advocates can connect with us through events and volunteering.
Our Issue Areas
We promote a citywide strategy to youth development that is data and outcome driven in these issue areas.
2018 Election Advocacy Guide Toolkit
The 2018 District of Columbia elections present a critical opportunity. Now is the time to push for the needs of the over 120,000 children and youth who call DC home—but lack a direct political voice—to the forefront of every candidate’s agenda.
Learn MoreUpcoming Events
- Mar 27 Wednesday
Policy, Politics and Pastry
- 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Did you know that this February the newest youth homeless count showed >1,300 youth are homeless in DC– that’s a substantial increase over previous years’ counts. Together with our partners, we’re trying to understand: Are the numbers going up or is the methodology just getting better? The answer is both and we’d like to dig…
November is Youth Homelessness Awareness Month
Join the fight to end youth homelessness here in the District, by making a pledge to support our advocacy for homeless youth this Giving Tuesday.
Pledge NowYouth-Friendly DC
Keep up with news and updates from DCAYA staff and occasional guest bloggers, with a new post every Wednesday.
Budgets Are Moral Documents.
Budgets are moral documents. They reflect a community’s priorities and values. So, with the Mayor’s budget set to drop on March 20th, we wanted to share the investments we hope to see- and will be working for- in the coming few months. We can’t do this work without you, so take a read, and reach…
Students at H.D. Woodson Create Care Packages & Personalized Messages for Classmates Experiencing Homelessness
Every week youth at H.D. Woodson High School in Ward 7 of Washington, D.C. learn about civic engagement and practice civic action through youth service projects with the help of volunteer organizations like ours, the Community Enrichment Project. The first few months of the school year students selected hefty topics, such as domestic violence,…
Our New Year’s Resolutions
On this New Year’s Eve, as most of us put together our dreams, wishes, and hopes for 2019, we wanted to share ours with you. Over the last few weeks we shared stories from our staff and board to show you why we do the work we do at DCAYA. (Access them here at our…