UNO documentary: Youth Empowerment Project

What: The Youth Empowerment Project — a community-based not-for-profit organization founded in 2004 to assist young people returning to New Orleans from correctional facilities — emerged in the early 200s. Since Hurricane Katrina, the organization has expanded in order to meet the increased needs for juvenile re-entry programs in the community. YEP now maintains services at 7 locations, providing an annual 1,000 youths with GED and literacy services; job skill development; mentoring; case management; summer activities; and holistic services.

Film by: UNO student and filmmaker Taylor Berry

Editor’s Note: NolaVie partners with students of UNO professor László Zsolt Fülöp, pairing them with artists, non-profits, environmental groups, and cultural entities to facilitate a live curriculum that results in a short documentary. Taylor Berry, a student in the Department of Film and Theatre at the University of New Orleans, interviews Collins about YEP and gun violence in the GNO.