Core Values / Intentions

Kinship, Unity, and Interconnection

• We hold as essential – transitions in the lives of young people in our communities, supported by the participation of adults and elders.
• We support each youth as they uphold their unique, sacred contract with Life, that they be nurtured, respected, and given space to grow.
• We recognize the wholeness of humanity in spirit, body, heart, and mind.
• We celebrate intergenerational, cross-cultural collaboration and interspecies connection.
• We acknowledge that our work is a part of a broader effort to restore, maintain, and defend our connection to the greater web of Life.

Equity, Solidarity, and Justice

• We center the voices of those most impacted by systemic oppression and climate change in our community and engage in reparations.
• We work towards healing false dichotomies, holding the creative tension between polarities, and dismantling systems of oppression within ourselves and our organization.
• We honor our differences and recognize lineage, sovereignty, and self-determination as essential components of wholeness.
• We see money as energy and raise funds as part of community building, working to find partners who are ready to share resources, vision, and values.

Respect for Time and Place

• We recognize and pay attention to the first peoples and watersheds of the land of which we live, work, and gather, listening for ways to support and repair..
• We listen for the wisdom and guidance of the earth, giving attention to the impact of time and place, honoring the seasons and natural cycles.
• We hold as truth that time is circular, cyclical, expansive, and serves as our ally.
• We uphold our work as doing our part contributing to the past, present, and future generations.
• We actively tend our relationships with our local and global communities.

Leadership as Loving Service

• We give ourselves to the vision, the work, and the community with love.
• We believe that how we do things is as important as what we do.
• We uplift shared leadership and fluid, evolving roles.
• We respond to individual and collective needs by creating circles of accountability and fostering transparent communication.
• We engage in open and honest dialogue and strengthen relational resilience through the challenges we face.

Cross-Cultural Protocols

Youth Passageways has collaboratively developed and adopted a set of Cross-Cultural Protocols in Rites of Passage to guide its operations, and support others in creating their own working agreements. You can view them HERE.