The Philadelphia Opportunity Youth Collaborative (POYC)
The Philadelphia Opportunity Youth Collaborative, led by PYN, is a coalition of organizations, partners, businesses and stakeholders working together to better understand and build opportunity and supportive services for "opportunity youth" across Philadelphia - defined as young people, ages 16 to 24 years old, not currently engaged in education and employment.
PYOC aims to strengthen bridges, data collection practices, and coordination among citywide agencies, service organizations, educational institutions, and employers to better connect youth with education, jobs, and meaningful opportunity.
About Us
The Philadelphia Opportunity Youth Collaborative is building a stronger, more connected ecosystem for young people ages 16–24 who are disconnected from school and work. Convened by Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) as the backbone organization behind Project U-Turn and part of the Aspen Opportunity Youth Forum, The Philadelphia Opportunity Youth Collaborative is a consortium of greater Philadelphia-area community groups, who together represent a long history of providing coordinated services to youth.
Launching Spring 2026, the POYC seeks to collaborate with local partners to amplify a focus on opportunity youth for initiatives that provide education and employment opportunities for Opportunity Youth in Philadelphia. One of the first priorities of the POYC is to dig deep into available data to take a closer look at the needs of youth in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Opportunity Youth Collaborative is building a community of organizations working in concert to ensure that every youth is served in a holistic way with a coherent array of supportive services. We are strengthening bridges among citywide agencies, service organizations, educational institutions, and employers to better connect youth with education, jobs, and opportunities.​
Who are Opportunity Youth?
Opportunity Youth are people who are 16 to 24 years old and not engaged in education and employment. This is typically due to systemic barriers that we plan to identify and address collectively. Based on American Communities survey data (ACS), there are approximately 30 thousand opportunity youth in the greater Philadelphia area.​
Join the Collab!
We believe together our voice and leadership are essential to shaping the next phase of Philadelphia’s Youth. Whether you're a founder, youth worker, educator, business leader, policymaker, or advocate we invite you to add your voice and vision as we co-create solutions that center equity, opportunity and impact.
Collaborative Founding Members