Our Programs
Meridian Youth Program
Youth Development
Meridian creates the kind of place a young person actually wants to be and then makes sure it is safe.
A meridian is the reference point from which everything else is measured. That is the whole idea of this program. We tell young people that they are that reference point, and we build the space around them rather than asking them to fit into a space built for someone else.
The program is named for a conviction our mother lived by: that the highest point a community can reach is determined by the young people it invests in.
The Need
In underserved communities, young people between 13 and 19 grow up with far fewer safe, welcoming places than their peers a few miles away. Schools are stretched thin. Programs close when funding does. Public space is contested, and much of what remains is built around adult convenience rather than around the teenagers it is meant to serve.
Something always fills that vacuum. Usually, it is whatever offers belonging first. Young people are not drawn to gangs or to unsupervised gatherings because they lack ambition. They are drawn to them because those things offer identity, community, and a sense of ownership that nobody else is providing.
Meridian exists to provide it first, and to provide it better.
What we do
- Organized social events built with young people.
- Meridian aims to host supervised social events that give young people a real outlet for real social energy: music, food, room to be loud, and the freedom to show up as themselves. Around that, we build the things they tell us they want, including resource tables, guest speakers and mentors, mental health check-in spaces, and creative and cultural programming in areas like content creation and podcasting. Events are co-designed with young people. Programs built on adult assumptions about teenagers are rarely successful.
- Adults who facilitate rather than police.
- Our staff and volunteers will be there as facilitators, mentors, and connectors to resources. Young people are given autonomy inside a framework of support, because that is the combination that produces growth.
- Community partnership.
- We aim to build relationships with local city government, schools, park districts, congregations, and youth-serving organizations. Our goal is to listen to young people and families directly, so that what we offer reflects what a community actually needs.
Who We Serve
Meridian serves young people between 13 and 19 in underserved communities, with particular attention to neighborhoods where limited access to enrichment programming and safe gathering space creates the greatest need.
The program is built to be genuinely inclusive. We welcome young people of all backgrounds, without regard to academic performance, prior involvement with the justice system, neighborhood, or any other screening criteria. Meridian meets young people where they are.
Set to begin operations in the Chicagoland area, with expansion planned as need and capacity allow.
Keeping Young People Safe
Every staff member and volunteer who works with young people completes a background check and youth-protection training. The Foundation maintains a written youth-protection policy and carries general liability and abuse and molestation coverage.
Parents and guardians can expect clear information about who is present, what happens at an event, and how to reach us at any point.
What We Are Building
Meridian is designed to grow into permanent space. As the program establishes trust and secures the funding for continuous operation, we intend to open a dedicated youth center: a place with room for programming, content creation, social gathering, resource access, and unstructured time, designed with the input of the young people who will use it and staffed by adults who know them.
The space is a goal we are working toward rather than a project already underway, and we will say so here when that changes.
Support Meridian
A gift to Meridian funds the events, the trained adults, and the safety infrastructure that make a genuinely open space possible. If you work with young people, serve in local government, provide security services, lead a business or community organization, or run a space where young people can gather safely, partnering with us is how this program reaches further.