Empowering New Center for Youth, Designed by Youth

The non-profit organization employs, trains, and empowers youth to organize and use their voices to create peace, equity, and justice in their communities. Its success in supporting Rochester’s challenged neighborhoods resulted in outgrowing their previous facility. Having a strong community presence in their neighborhood, they purchased two vacant lots across the street to build a new flagship headquarters that uplifted and beautified the neighborhood.

Keeping with the center’s mission of encouraging youth voice, the design team met with youth organizers in multiple sessions to understand their visions for the space and incorporate their input into the design. Interviews with former and current youth organizers were met with the theme: “This building is for us, by us.”

The design team facilitated youth-led teams in planning their new headquarters, focusing on their needs and feedback. The design reflects how they used the previous space and their functional requirements. This input shaped a strong, inspiring location for Rochester youth to gather and grow. Located in the southwest neighborhood, it allows for future multi-site expansion throughout the city.

The center offers meeting and program spaces designed to be safe and welcoming, ensuring youth feel comfortable expressing themselves. Youth organizers gather with youth to openly talk through social problems and work to create significate change in their community. It features Empowerment Hall, a large, multipurpose event space that accommodates up to 150 people. The Sankofa Study offers educational materials and insights into community history while the Zen Den meditation room provides a quiet space for reflection and mental well-being. The indoor and outdoor programming spaces allow for creative programming and community collaboration.

The new center aligns with the organization’s "Change Starts with YOUth" initiative, serving as a hub for youth leadership development and community organizing, empowering youth-led social change for justice and equity.