Youth Support Services
About Navigate
We are proud to offer a variety of support services to youth facing significant barriers to success. Often these youth are unhoused or otherwise underserved and need support navigating complex systems and accessing resources for education and employment. Navigate services include crucial support for education, career goals, financial stability, employment, and more.
Navigate Services
Each Navigate youth is paired with a skilled Resource Navigator on our team. Our Resource Navigators help youth, ages 14-24 years, gain work readiness, academic, and professional skills to increase their success as they transition back into education or the workforce.
Employment Support
- Job counseling and workforce preparation
- Elevate tours and career skills webinars
- Job shadows and paid work placement opportunities
- Job search, resume, and application help
- Occupational skills training, apprenticeships, trade school
Education Support
- Tutoring & GED preparation
- School re-enrollment support
- Resource specialist connections
- School supply provision
- Post-secondary: college applications, financial aid, etc.
Adult Skills Mentoring
- Housing application support
- Navigating OHP and healthcare systems
- Application support for unemployment, Social Security, driver’s licenses, and more
Financial Literacy
- Personal Finance Classes through DevNW including personal instruction on budgeting, banking, credit health, and more
- Partnership with OCCU for specialized account setup
Navigate Events
DevNW Financial Foundations Courses
We partner with DevNW to offer youth Financial Foundations courses.
Are you working to save for a car, a degree, or your first apartment? Financial Foundations class will teach you the techniques and provide you with the mobile tools to reach your goals. You’ll learn to manage money, build emergency savings, create savings goals for big purchases, build and repair credit, and make smart decisions about taking on loans.
Wonder Wednesdays
Join us in Eugene at our Spark on 7th location or in Cottage Grove at the Cottage Grove Community Center on the last Wednesday of each month for Wonder Wednesdays. Wonder Wednesdays allow youth to enjoy a fun environment while learning essential life skills. Did we mention dinner will be provided? The Wonder topic will change each month, so check the calendar!
Funding Provided by Lane Workforce Partnership
Our Navigate program utilizes federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to provide support to youth throughout Lane County, serving Creswell, Cottage Grove, Lowell, Oakridge, Eugene, Springfield, Junction City, Fern Ridge, Crow-Applegate-Lorane, Siuslaw, and Mapleton.
Enrollment Eligibility
In order to be eligible to participate in the Navigate program, youth must meet the following requirements:
Youth Currently Enrolled in School
- Age 14-21 and enrolled in school
- Eligible to work in the United States
- Meet low-income guidelines AND one or more of the following criteria:
- withdrawn from school
- foster youth
- juvenile offender
- disabled (including mental health diagnoses)
- teen parent or pregnant
- unhoused
- runaway
- low literacy skills
Youth **NOT** Enrolled in School
- Age 16-24 and not enrolled in school
- Eligible to work in the United States
- Meet one or more of the following criteria:
- withdrawn from school
- foster youth
- juvenile offender
- disabled (including mental health diagnoses)
- teen parent or pregnant
- unhoused
- runaway
- low literacy skills
Navigate by Connected Lane County is an equal-opportunity employer/program.
Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
Submit an Interest Form
We appreciate your interest in education, training, and employment services. Completing this online interest form is the first step in the application process for this program and will get you added to our waitlist.
Information submitted will be kept confidential and only used by authorized program staff to conduct program eligibility, provide services, and track performance to funders.
Youth Testimonial
Danielle is a youth that enrolled in our Navigate program in December 2020. When she first came into the program, Danielle was 17 years old, disengaged from school, unhoused, and involved in the juvenile justice system. In the three months since enrolling, Danielle has found housing stability in a transitional living house, started mental health counseling support, and re-enrolled in school. Recently, Danielle completed the five-week DevNW Youth Financial Foundations course and was able to open a bank account through Connected Lane County’s partnership with Oregon Community Credit Union. Danielle claims her biggest success in the program is “getting back into school and getting job experience.”
The most beneficial thing: “[Navigate] helped me achieve getting my forms of identification like my driver’s permit and my birth certificate."
Sponsor a Youth
While our Navigate program utilizes federal WIOA funds to provide support to youth, this funding is limited and does not cover expenses related to food, shelter, or emergency support. If you would like to support our Navigate youth, please consider making a donation today!