Alternatives Incorporated

Over 50 years ago, Alternatives was founded by community members with the purpose of engaging young people in the process of building the necessary skills to deal with peer pressure, communication and causal issues for substance use. Rooted in principles of social justice, young people at Alternative advocated for self expression, and rallied against capitalism, systemic racism and the Vietnam war. In the 5 decades since, Alternatives has developed programs to support individual and family healing, self advocacy, and community building. Our mission is to inspire young people to create a just future through practices that heal individuals, restore communities, and transform systems. The majority of the neighborhoods that Alternatives serves are predominantly Black and Brown, with 58% of our young people self-reporting as Black and 26% self-reporting as Latinx. Our Behavioral Health services are specifically designed to respond to the need for safe, sustainable communities: our therapists work with youth to manage a range of personal, family and social issues; bringing families and communities together to resolve conflicts and keep young people out of the justice and child welfare system. Beyond individual healing, we provide youth, families, and communities with the skills and resources to spark cultural shifts that move schools and institutions to healing-centered practices. Our Restorative Justice programs are philosophically grounded in our asset-based, youth-focused approach. The Restorative Justice team works with young people and adults in becoming co-leaders in a process of healing, and community building through youth development and capacity-building programs. Our approach to transforming systems that impact young people is informed by community needs, exacerbated by a system that perpetuates violence, disproportionate access to mental health care, housing insecurity and inadequate support for young people in crisis. Through trauma-informed capacity building and policy and advocacy work, Alternatives approaches lasting change via ever-expanding tiers of impact and care.