United Playaz is a violence prevention and youth leadership organization that works with San Francisco’s hardest to reach youth through case management, street outreach, in-school services, recreational activities at community centers, and support to incarcerated youth. United Playaz is committed to improving the lives of young people surviving in vulnerable environments, show high incidence of truancy and low academic performance, or have been involved in the juvenile justice system through direct service and community collaboration. United Playaz believes that “it takes the hood to save the hood”.

A key strategy of United Playaz is to place the program into the hands of the youth.

From its inception United Playaz has been a youth-driven and youth-led program. UP participants take responsibility for planning and organizing activities, outreach and recruitment, and providing education and violence prevention advocacy to their peers. UP’s structure is flexible in that it allows youth to direct activities under the support and guidance of adult staff and mentors. Additionally, UP programs are designed to provide wrap-around services that assist youth in every aspect of their lives, keeping them from the dangers of entering and re-entering the justice system.

• Youth have the right to lead, to be heard, and have opportunities for action.

• Youth have the right to be healthy, safe and not criminalized.

• Youth are the present AND the future.

• United Playaz supports youth!