In 1999, a series of drug and alcohol-related deaths forced the South Berkshire community to face the fact that it was losing its young people. Fed up with attending friends’ funerals, Amanda Root, a 19-year-old high school dropout, began attending meetings of concerned citizens who called themselves the Heroin Task Force and Prevention Council.

The adults on the Task Force kept coming back to the same question, “What do the young people want?” Amanda’s answer to this question was, “Why don’t you ask the young people?”, and the seed for Railroad Street Youth Project was sown.

Amanda and her team soon secured a small office on Railroad Street in Great Barrington and a $2,500 fund at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. The young staff created youth-inspired projects, workshops, performances and publications, all thanks to partnerships with dozens of businesses, artists, and other non-profits in the community. RSYP sponsored over 100 such projects during their early years, including Project Native, which is now a thriving small business with a 53 acre farm.

Today, RSYP is a dynamic non-profit organization with a $300,000 annual budget, helping young people bring their ideas and inspirations to fruition and discover their place in the world. Our services and programs have evolved to meet the changing needs of local young people. The Youth Operational Board continues to fund youth-inspired projects.  We run ongoing mentoring and apprenticeship programs, and an active drop-in center, where we offer counseling, mediation, referrals and advocacy services for young people in need.

Founder Amanda Root went on to attend and graduate with honors from Bryn Mar College in 2008, and now works in development at an educational institution in California.

We are funded nearly 100% by local community members and family foundations.

We are run by a staff of eight young people and adults with oversight from an executive board and a youth operational board.  The executive board is a group of adults and young people selected for their interest in supporting local youth and their knowledge of how to get things done. The youth operational board is an active group of more than a dozen young people who meet every Tuesday after school to discuss and approve proposals for youth-inspired projects.

If you’re interested in supporting RSYP or in getting involved as a volunteer or board member, please send us an e-mail or give us a call.