Friends Of Island Academy, Inc.

About Friends Of Island Academy, Inc.

Each Year Over 5,000 Youth Are Incarcerated Or Sent To Detention Centers In New York City. Since 1990 Friends Of Island Academy Has Been Working With 300 Youth Inside Rikers Island Jail And Those Leaving Detention Facilities, Providing Intensive Post-Release Care With An On-Site School, Counseling, Mentoring And Employment Training/Assistance. Selected Youth Are Then Trained To Help Run Friends' Prevention Programs In Public Schools And Public Housing, Reaching An Additional 1,000 High-Risk Youth. Our Name Comes From Rikers Island's Alternative High School Known As The Island Academy Where Our Staff Work With Incarcercerated Youth. Thus, The Overall Mission Of Foia Is To Provide Its Program Participants With The Skills, Tools, And Power To Make Positive Decisions Towards Their Own Success. Foia Also Operates From The Philosophy That Young People Have The Potential To Be Very Powerful And Effective Role Models In The Very Same Communities Where They Were Once Caught In A Cycle Of Self-Destructive Behavior. Foia Further Believes That Young People's Potential Can Successfully Be Tapped, Developed And Realized Through Positive Interaction With Skillful, Caring, Committed Adults, As Well As Peers.