Aveena Banbait

In Aveena’s early teen years, she realized the importance of having a consistent person who cared about what was going on in all aspects of her life, which grew into a desire to do the same for others who are in that stage of life right now. Now, Aveena does just that; walking alongside young parents through our Young Families and Thrive programs.

These programs help to break generational cycles of trauma and help young mothers and their families succeed in the community. Caring for young moms as a whole person and allowing them to realize that they have options; they can begin to see what’s possible for them and realize they have different choices.

Seeing the many struggles young people face these days is something that drives Aveena to help. She wants to see young people feel empowered to take care of themselves, make healthy life choices and find their strengths to then go out and share that with the community around them.

“Hearing about the impactful work YU does in the community really drew me in. They’re making positive changes in the lives of the young people in our community and that is something I knew I wanted to be a part of.” She says. “YU also puts a strong value on staff support and community which is so important in this work.”