CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!
The Center for Young Women's Development (CYWD) is one of the first non-profits in the United States run and led entirely by young women. From the beginning, we have organized young women who were the most marginalized in San Francisco — those in the street economies and the juvenile justice system — to design and deliver peer-to-peer education and support.   READ MORE

Today we offer a vibrant model for linking youth development and youth organizing, with the mission of providing gender-specific, peer-based opportunities for high-risk, low- and no-income young women to build healthier lives and healthier communities. Our programs work to ensure that young women who have been deeply hurt and excluded — who have been homeless, incarcerated, or otherwise severely impacted by poverty — have a place to heal, achieve self-sufficiency and become positively engaged in their communities. All of our programs have been designed using a holistic approach that recognizes each young woman as a whole person who already has the experience and strength necessary to become a powerful leader and agent of change.

Key to CYWD's success is that it is gender specific and focused on a diverse group of young women who share very explicit experiences that are severely marginalizing and traumatic. Our programs help dissuade the notion that generic youth programs can truly serve all young people, when their lives vary so greatly. The general belief that everyone is welcome in any program usually means that only some will make it, while those most in need will fall away or never walk through the doors at all.