UTEC, Inc. (MA)

The mission of UTEC is to ignite and nurture the ambition of our most disconnected young people to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success. UTEC works alongside families in the Merrimack Valley (Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill) as they break cycles of poverty and violence. The organization supports youth-led policy initiatives based on its two-generational (2Gen) programming for young parents in the community who have had negative contact with the criminal justice system. At the heart of this project lies a focus on preparing young fathers, specifically those who have been most impacted by the justice system, to lead and implement such policy and systems changes. UTEC’s policy focus will be on incubating innovative Whole Family Approaches to Ending Poverty at the local and state levels, then sharing and spotlighting these innovations nationally. They will spotlight best practices and advance policy by empowering experts in the community, especially young fathers.