Urban Underground is advancing a new generation of young leaders committed to building safe and sustainable communities. We advance our mission through effective and age appropriate programs, strategic partnerships, and youth-led civic engagement campaigns in the areas of health, education, public safety, and community justice. Our programs establish key pipelines for youth leadership, help groups broaden their definitions of diversity and inclusion, and create educational models relevant to today's youth.
We believe that all young people deserve access to a caring and responsible adult, culturally competent support for personal growth, and opportunities to increase knowledge and skills for the improvement of self and community.
Urban Underground operates on the following core beliefs:
It is never too late to change a life. Every adult has a responsibility to nurture, guide and support young people as though they are their own. This commitment ensures we will never give up on them, lest we give up on our own hopes and dreams.
Positive over Negative We accept every young person for who they are, not what we want them to become. We do not engage with youth to "treat their problems" but to enhance their potential to become responsible contributors to their families and community.
Respect for the Future Urban Underground was not only created for youth, but created with youth. We work with our members in mutually empowering and respectful relationships. Key to this relationship is respect for a young person to choose his/her own path in life.
Respect for the Past As young people increase their understanding of personal and community leadership, we are to ensure that they are aware and accepting of their historical and ancestral background.
Accountability We fully commit ourselves to creating and maintaining a space and culture that challenges attitudes and behaviors that are destructive to self and/or others.