Kyra Bobinet

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1998

Kyra Bobinet

Vision Youthz

http://www.visionyouthz.org

San Francisco, California, United States

Education & Youth Leadership

The Bold Idea:

There are many services for youth in San Francisco. However, these services are not or cannot be accessed for many reasons:

1. Services are not comprehensive
2. Services are comprehensive, but not available to older youth
3. Services are not relevant to the needs of youth
4. Barriers exist between youth and adult perspectives
5. Services need to be based on true caring and relationships for these highly timid, dejected youth.

Vision Youthz targets at-risk youth - young adults who have suffered childhood trauma and neglect - and who are or could become involved in the juvenile justice system. In schools, detention settings, and the community Vision Youthz offers a viable and inspiring alternative. Vision Youthz provides avenues for skills-building, relationship-building, and inner awareness for vulnerable, inner-city youth. The holistic youth development programs graduate youth into higher levels of education, employment, recreation, relationships, and well-being. As a volunteer-based community, Vision Youthz facilitates supportive relationships between youth and a diverse group of caring, committed adults. Through personalized referrals, the organization aids youth in meeting their needs with existing community services. Youth are supported long-term, as they set and complete more sophisticated goals on their way to the colleges and careers of young adulthood.

Biography:

Kyra Bobinet is a 1998 graduate of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and a recipient of the 1997 James Comer Fellowship (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), 1998 UCSF Martin Luther King Jr. Award, and 1998 Echoing Green Graduate Fellowship in Community Service.

She is of Ojibway, Lakota, and Czech descent, and a mother of two. She indefinitely postponed her research and medical career for a life of service and empowerment of youth and others. She believes in the unconditional worth of all beings.