Mission Dignity Youth-led Peer Education and College Resource Center
Mission Dignity is a community-based youth-led organization located in San Francisco’s Mission District. Mission Dignity’s vision is to improve the lives of culturally diverse youth by creating a new environment filled with positive challenges and growth opportunities where young people can begin to discover a sense of self and community.
Throughout inner-city neighborhoods, youth continue to face obstacles in their lives such as insufficient education, gang violence, exposure to alcohol and drugs, and influence of negative role models. As a result, many young people have fallen victim to incarceration, drug addiction, hatred of others and self, violence, and suicide. Mission Dignity has seen these issues affect youth and has taken a stance in creating changes so that all young people can have fulfilling lives.
Mission Dignity believes that all youth are capable of success regardless of the stigmatization of many teen groups and young adults by mainstream society. It is Mission Dignity’s dream that every young person be given the opportunity to achieve success and become an active community participant, a future leader. Mission Dignity intends to support youth’s dreams by offering encouragement and support from strong role models who instill positive examples. Mission Dignity considers itself a tool for social change by raising critical consciousness, providing supportive educational and career planning services, and furthering access to resources that inspire deeper learning and result in greater probability of attaining higher education. Furthermore, it is our aspiration to support young people from all walks of life and from all communities. We practice a holistic approach in serving youth everywhere.
We believe that there are many ways of viewing and understanding the world. As a result, the roots of community problems must be examined from all angles including sociological, environmental, cultural, historical, and spiritual perspectives. As future leaders, we need to recognize the history of our community in order to understand the ways we can serve it. Also, we are pressed with challenges to practice new ways of fostering self-improvement and self-esteem for young people today. We understand that there is much work to be done towards the liberation of youth in our Mission District community. We hope that our efforts will not be in vain, but instead will be a positive force in humanity’s struggle for real freedom from all forms of oppression.
This vision was created by Mission Dignitys founding leadership team consisting of the following youth and adult staff members: Rigo Garcia-Alcaraz, Guillermo Torres, Jesus Barrera, Teodolinda Valencia, Sabrina Davis, Emilio Osorio, Ernesto Sanchez, and Nancy Kahn
The information above can be found on the official website of Mission Dignity. For more details about the organization and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit their website: http://www.missiondignity.org