This summer, the Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA), the Metro Development and Housing Authority (MDHA) and Aspiring Youth Enrichment Services (AYES), launched a new pilot summer program at Tony Sudekum Apartments. The summer program, offered by AYES, taught youth participants social skills, conflict resolution, reading comprehension, basic math, life skills more, and more.
42 young people participated in the AYES summer program, engaging in activities ranging from field trips to community service. Youth also developed entrepreneurial skills, learning how to create their own business and operating a food truck that served members of their community.
Beyond practical skills, the program served a vital role in building positive relationships among youth participants. “Several youth living in Sudekum Homes attend different schools and they are not allowed to go outside to play due to the violence and safety issues in their neighborhood…. The youth who previously did not socialize with each other started socializing, mentoring each other, and looking out for one another” stated AYES Executive Director, LaDonna Harris.
NAZA’s Chief Executive, Anna Harutyunyan, shared that the program truly reflected the intent of the initiative, providing “youth in under-resourced communities access to positive youth development opportunities, safe spaces and quality interactions that enrich their lives and expose them to career and cultural opportunities”.
With the success of the pilot program, Metro Nashville allocated additional funding in NAZA’s 2026 budget to expand programming next summer for young residents of MDHA properties.
This milestone capped off a successful summer for NAZA-funded partners, who delivered 29 summer programs across the city and served over 1,500 youth in Nashville and Davidson County.
Even though summer is coming to an end, NAZA -funded partners continue to serve youth in our city year-round thanks to sustainable funding provided for afterschool programs. When you support NPLF, you help empower our city’s youth. Register for a NAZA-funded afterschool program and learn how to support this important work.
Even though summer is coming to an end, NAZA -funded partners continue to serve youth in our city year-round thanks to sustainable funding provided for afterschool programs. When you support NPLF, you help empower our city’s youth. Register for a NAZA-funded afterschool program and learn how to support this important work.
