Centers

Arelis De La O is a research assistant at Columbia University's Center for Youth Violence Prevention. As a member of the Washington Heights /Inwood community of Upper Manhattan, she wears many hats. Her contributions to the community reflect her concerns, primarily directed toward the high number of incarcerated youths and how that directly impacts their community and their lives in general. Ms. De La O has been a Community Organizer at F.Y.I. (Fresh Youth Initiatives), partaking in community outreach and mobilization. Another major volunteer initiative in which she is involved, and one about which she is most proud, is managing a community kitchen (Cosina Del Alma) which serves food to families in need in Washington Heights.

Ms. De La O spends much of her time assisting youth development programs such as E.S.L. for participants and their parents as well as standing against youth violence. She is currently collecting and managing surveys and doing community observations for two center projects. Arelis is currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Psychology.