Youth Programs

Mayor's Youth Employment Program

The Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MYEP) provides all Charlotte youth with equitable career development opportunities to explore the world of work, build social capital, and enhance economic mobility.

MYEP participants explore careers, hone skills, and gain exposure to models of professionalism, creating pathways to attainable career goals. As youth achieve, our community grows stronger.

We seek to build partnerships with host employers in Charlotte's economy's private, public, and non-profit sectors who can provide one-of-a-kind career experiences for MYEP participants. Businesses provide career experiences that help youth develop career goals, stay in school, achieve academically, and enhance social skills that enable them to succeed. Students connect to the work world, allowing businesses and communities to know the needs and successes of the students and schools.

MYEP History

In the Mid-1980s, Mayor Harvey Gantt developed a framework for a program to support upward mobility for Charlotte youth. In 1986 his vision came to life as the Mayor's Youth Employment Program (MYEP), dedicated to providing students with career experiences that help youth develop career goals, stay in school, achieve academically, and enhance social skills that enable them to succeed in life. Over the years, the MYEP has gained state and national recognition.

City of Charlotte Named All-America City for Its Youth Programs

Charlotte has been named a 2023 All-America City by the National Civic League for its work focused on youth engagement and development. This prestigious award has recognized and celebrated the best in American civic innovation since 1949.

Read full All America City Award Story

Job and Career Readiness Training

The City of Charlotte’s Youth Programs provides 16-24-year old residents with the opportunity to participate in career readiness training free of charge. This experience covers job readiness, interview preparation and essential skills. The Job & Career Readiness Training is offered to you during the school day or on the weekend, depending on what works best for your schedule. This training is the first required step an interested student must take in order to pursue Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MYEP) eligibility.

Job & Career Readiness Training Dates:

• October 7th – 28th

Eligibility

• Will be 16 On or Before April 15th, 2025
• Have a Current Social Security Number
• Are Eligible to Work in the USA
• COMPLETE JCRT REGISTRATION BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

Generation Nation: Charlotte Mecklenburg Youth Council

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council (CMYC) is the official student advisory council for City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The program is managed in partnership with GenerationNation, a Charlotte-based nonprofit with strong experience in K-12 education and youth civic leadership. CMYC further positions Charlotte as an innovative, inclusive, inspiring, and welcoming city that is focused on the future.

Through the CMYC partnership, diverse Charlotte youth:

• Positively interact with and advise community leaders;

• Gain understanding about the city’s successes, challenges, and opportunities for civic problem-solving in the City and across local governments and organizations;

• Join a growing network of young civic leaders who are working to make Charlotte America’s Queen City, opening her arms to a diverse and inclusive community of residents, businesses, and visitors alike; a safe family-oriented city where people work together to help everyone thrive.

You can join any time during the year.

Youth and Safety

Alternatives to Violence

Alternatives to Violence (ATV) works to stop shootings and killings in the Beatties Ford/LaSalle area using a public health model with three primary strategies:

• Detecting and interrupting conflicts.
• Identifying and treating individuals at high risk of involvement in violence.
• Changing social norms that exacerbate violence in the community.

ATV team members are trusted messengers who are based in the community. These trained violence interrupters and outreach workers prevent shootings by identifying and mediating potentially violent conflicts in the community and following up to ensure the conflict does not reignite. ATV outreach workers engage high-risk individuals, talk to them about the costs of violence, and assist them in accessing services and support, including employment. The team works within the community to communicate that violence should not be viewed as usual but as a behavior that can be changed.

SAFE Charlotte

The City of Charlotte has solidified and implemented public safety policy improvements developed through conversations with residents and community leaders. We understand that a safer Charlotte goes beyond changes to policing and public safety. It means tackling systemic issues to ensure a community of equity and opportunity. Taking a holistic approach, we have rolled up our sleeves to address such intertwined factors as unemployment, housing, transportation, and workforce development. Among the improvements in progress, we are empowering more non-uniformed civilians and providing additional community resources for success. Change does not happen overnight. But over time, we have seen meaningful and sustainable improvements in action, with more to come in the year ahead.