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Street Outreach
Daily credible-messenger outreach that meets young people where they are and helps de-escalate conflict.
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New Haven & Hamden, CT
From the Street
to Straight.
Youth violence prevention and mentoring rooted in the culture — hip-hop, film, music, education, and entrepreneurship — for young people ages 8–35 in New Haven and Hamden.
FilmMusicEducationBiz
Our mission
Every young person deserves someone in their corner.
Street2Straight works to prevent violence before it starts, and to walk alongside young people, families, and returning citizens as they build safer, stronger futures.
Our mission: To reduce community violence by engaging individuals at the highest risk through credible messenger outreach, relationship-based intervention, and intensive case management.
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Mentoring
Consistent adults who show up for youth ages 8–35, with intensive support for those at highest risk.
Learn more →🕊️
Violence Prevention
Relationship-based intervention that interrupts cycles of harm and opens pathways to stability.
Our story →Culture · Skills · Future
Pathways that speak our language.
Outreach and mentoring come first. Then we open doors through the arts, skills, and hustle that already live in our community.
Street2Screen
Film & media — tell your story, own your lens.
Street2Beat
Music & hip-hop — studio energy, positive bars.
Street2Suite
Education & job readiness — money skills that stick.
Street2Biz
Entrepreneurship — build something that's yours.
Real Talk
Words we live by.
Where you start doesn't decide where you finish.— Street2Straight
Your story isn't over. Pick up the pen.— Street2Straight
Real ones show up — for you, for the block, for the next generation.— Street2Straight
Put the energy into the beat, the lens, the business — not the beef.— Street2Straight
Nobody makes it alone. That's why we're in your corner.— Street2Straight
Impact
Proof in the work.
119
people served through our 2025 basic-needs program
Since 1997
Street outreach
Youth Spotlight
Their voices. Their stories.
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Coming soon
Our mentees in their own words. Check back soon.
Meet our founder
Pepe Vega, MPA, VPP
A product of the community who turned his life around at a very young age, Pepe has done street outreach since 1997. Since 2019 he has served as a Lead Violence Prevention Specialist helping victims of violence at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Read his storyA product of the community. Street outreach since 1997. Still showing up for the next generation.— Pepe Vega, MPA, VPP · Founder
Help a young person choose a new path.
Your gift or your time keeps street outreach and mentoring going in New Haven and Hamden.