Dear Friends of CARY,
Welcome to the CARY website! It is my privilege to serve as the Executive Director of the Council on At-Risk Youth. CARY recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary of providing youth violence prevention to high-risk students around the Austin area. We have worked with over 12,000 students in the last 20 years and have a target to help 1,300 students this year.
CARY is doing work that no other agency in Austin is doing, which is addressing students who are involved in the disciplinary system for aggressive acts. We focus on this unique group of students because we know that these are the students that have the highest likelihood of entering into the “school-to-prison pipeline.” CARY works with middle school and high school students for an entire year using an evidence-based curriculum that renders outstanding outcomes such as an improvement in academic performance, attendance, and behavior, as well as an overall improvement of campus safety.
CARY has a diverse and committed governing Board of Directors, as well as an amazing team of Youth Advisors who work directly with students and families to reduce youth violence and crime. In addition, CARY is proud to partner with several foundations and government agencies to allow us to reach these students and to help give them the life skills they need to productively contribute to our community.
CARY’s mission is to “Empower youth with the skills to avoid crime and violence.” While CARY is indeed making a huge impact on our community, due to a lack of resources, we are still only able to meet the needs of about 15% of the students who qualify for services.
To learn more about what CARY is doing to impact positive change for our most vulnerable youth, please peruse the website and let our team know if we can answer any questions. To become involved and support the CARY mission, please donate today.
Your dedication and financial support have enabled CARY to reach out to thousands of youth. We thank you whole-heartedly for taking an active interest in the CARY mission.
Thank you,
Shana Fox
CARY Executive Director