Poverty, racism, immigration discrimination, and other forms of marginalization put youth at greater risk of violence and incarceration. At FLY, we believe that all our children deserve a chance to become more than their past mistakes. FLY’s program interventions, combined with extensive community and systems collaboration, disrupt the pipeline to prison and put kids on the path to a healthy, free, and productive life. Through this work, FLY has a positive impact on our youth, the communities we serve, and the systems in which we operate.

At FLY, we know what works for kids who have been in trouble with the law or are at risk of getting into trouble. We teach them about the law and consequences of crime, we provide them with caring adult mentors and advocates, we give them the chance to discover their skills and strengths, we help them learn to set new goals in life, and we give them the chance to give back to their communities and even mentor other youth. We train and work with hundreds of volunteers who help create a caring community network of support for our youth. FLY is also highly respected by members of our local juvenile justice systems including judges, probation chiefs, district attorneys, and public defenders, as well as local school officials. We and our youth are frequently invited to the table with them to discuss challenges and to help implement new ideas.

FLY's core programs were based directly on the ideas of youth who were incarcerated in a maximum security facility facing years or life in prison. These ideas were then bolstered with research on best practices in youth development and crime prevention and they remain the foundation of our work nearly 20 years later. FLY also has an exceptionally dedicated and talented staff who love our clients fiercely yet hold them accountable, and more than 200 volunteers annually who facilitate classes and mentor our youth. Our strong relationships with members of our local juvenile justice systems are another asset that allows us greater access to youth who need our services and gives us the opportunity to participate in system reform efforts.

Two of the most important measures of the success of youth intervention programs like FLY are rates of recidivism (reoffending) and rates of high school graduation. Year over year in FLY's Leadership Training Program 86% of our youth are not convicted of a new crime during their program year and 83% of eligible high school seniors earn their high school diplomas or GEDs (compared to national research date which shows that 50% - 80% of youth released from detention will reoffend without effective intervention, and juvenile incarceration can decrease the chances of high school graduation by up to 39%). FLY utilizes research and evidence-based practices from both the social services sector and the National Institute of Corrections. We are committed to staying focused on the areas where we can have the greatest impact.

FLY has played an important role in community-wide efforts to reduce the number of youth incarcerated and its costly impact on taxpayers. Since 2000, Santa Clara County has experienced a 77% reduction, and San Mateo County a 65% reduction, in juvenile incarceration. FLY began with one staff member and a handful of volunteers serving youth in a few neighborhoods in San Jose. Today, FLY serves more 2,000 youth annually in 23 cities throughout the Bay Area with 55 staff and more than 200 volunteers. The agency and our founder, Christa Gannon, have received numerous local, state, and national awards. In 2015, we expanded into a third community, Alameda County, and are developing strategies for programmatic and geographic expansion for 2020 and beyond. Our new strategic plan is called Imagine 2030. It contains detailed strategies for how we will partner with kids, communities, and systems to help dismantle California’s pipeline to prison, equip thousands more juvenile-justice and at-risk youth to transform their lives, and strengthen services for marginalized youth in California and beyond.