About Us
Our Mission
The Coalition for the CTE TAY Hub at 1025 2nd Ave is an intergenerational coalition that is developing the nation’s first full-service Career Technical Education (CTE) hub for Transitional Age Youth (TAY) that combines housing, career technical education, and support services to fill a decades-long gap. We focus on two main goals:
First, support a youth-centered planning process to design a robust, post-secondary, CTE Hub in Oakland for TAY, including those transitioning out of foster care or juvenile detention facilities, who have run away from home or dropped/been pushed out of school, newcomers/undocumented immigrants, and/or graduates who face education and employment barriers due to poverty and lack of access.
Second, generating community support for the Hub, including public system leaders, TAY leaders, and community organizations.
"The magic of the future CTE TAY Hub is that it will be a one stop shop for young people like me.
My baby's daycare would be onsite,
-Jadalyn Yin, Senior TAY Peer Specialist
Our Story
The idea for a full -service CTE TAY Hub originated in 2017, envisioned by young men detained at Camp Sweeney who imagined a one-stop center to support their education, housing, health, and employment needs.
To bring this vision to life, a coalition of Oakland volunteers, some of whom have been engaged for years in the efforts to keep Dewey Academy from being displaced (#HandsOffDewey), and to expand investments in youth who need alternative pathways —including alternative education; came together to design a hub offering comprehensive services: education, job training, health and mental health care, housing, and other vital supports.
They identified an ideal location at 1025 2nd Avenue in downtown Oakland—a vacant Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) building conveniently located near public transit and across from Laney College, Dewey Academy, and La Escuelita Education Center. The OUSD Board added the project to the Measure Y school facilities bond list and committed $15 million in funding. The City of Oakland recognized the CTE TAY Hub in its Reimagining Public Safety recommendations, and the Oakland City Council allocated $350,000 for strategic planning in its 2021–2023 budget.
Our Logo
A Symbol of Connection and Progress
Our logo is more than just a design—it’s a reflection of what the Hub will be for TAY. The gear imagery is intentional. Like a gear made up of many parts working together, our mission is built on different elements that form a powerful whole. Gears symbolize motion and forward momentum, just as our work moves young people toward independence and opportunity. They’re also part of larger systems—just like The CTE TAY Hub, which will connect Transitional Age Youth (TAY) to a wider world of support. And gears hold tension—it's that very tension that makes them function effectively. In the same way, we embrace the fact that growth often comes from navigating life’s challenges. That tension builds resilience—and it’s that resilience that powers change.
The CTE TAY Hub will be a one-stop shop for everything TAY need to succeed after high school. It’s more than a resource—it’s a starting point for a new chapter.
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CTE is the Career Technical Education TAY can access in order to move them into livable and thriving wages.
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Housing is the foundation. We will provide a safe, stable place to live, offering young people the foundation they need to build independence.
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Services open the door to opportunity. From mental health support and career technical education, to life skills and child care, our program model is designed specifically with transition aged youth in mind.
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Community is the heart of it all. We will create welcoming spaces where young people feel seen, valued, and connected.
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Safety is non-negotiable. We will foster an environment where young adults can grow, access resources, and take steps forward without fear.
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Hope is our guiding light. Every service, every interaction, is rooted in our belief that brighter futures are possible—and within reach.
We believe every young person deserves a chance to dream big, build a healthy life, and feel a sense of belonging. The CTE TAY Hub will support that journey—with housing, post secondary education, resources, safety, and unwavering hope.
Why is the CTE TAY Hub needed?
Transition-aged youth (TAY) in Oakland face unique challenges related to education, employment, housing, and mental health. Each year, more than 350 Oakland students drop/are pushed out of school. Even for those who graduate, it is estimated that more than 750 are not employed or enrolled in any post-secondary institution, including union apprenticeships, one year after graduation. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, the COVID pandemic made it even harder for TAY who were disproportionately impacted by unemployment and housing instability. Further, Enterprise Community Partners' brief describes the specific housing challenges TAY face and the barriers to accessing services. All of these factors leave TAY vulnerable to displacement, homelessness, underemployment, and the associated cycles of generational poverty and trauma. The CTE TAY Hub is designed to lower barriers for Oakland’s TAY to access the unique support they need to thrive.
