About the Organization
Upward & Onward Jacksonville, Inc. established in 2023 is a non-profit organization that is committed to providing social services to individuals in the community with a special emphasis on youth & young adults at-risk to homelessness.
U&OJAX was founded shortly after the unfortunate disposition of commitment (youth prison) of a 15 year old youth male that the Founder, Tiffany Richardson counseled throughout the years. The youth participated and successfully completed specialty court but lacked the support from family, community agencies, and the juvenile justice system. Prior to the youth transitioning to a commitment program to begin his lengthy sentence, he shared with Tiffany that he wished the system did not fail him and offered a little more support until he was an adult. Upon release, he will be a young adult.
In order to make a change, it is important to take proactive steps and support our teens, to ensure a successful transition into adulthood. U&OJAX currently offers two programs that meet the social, emotional, and advancement needs of justice-involved youth.
Our efforts focus on core issues of youth & young adults at-risk to homelessness through workforce readiness, second-chance employment, life skills, and the mental health crisis among the justice-involved.
About the Founder & CEO
Jacksonville native Tiffany Richardson is the founder of U&OJAX and a two-time graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in social work. Tiffany has made significant contributions to the juvenile justice system by providing social supports and mental health outpatient care.
Her expertise extends to organizational programming and strategic planning, as well as oversight and reporting on a local juvenile justice initiative aimed at building a more effective juvenile justice system.
Tiffany is currently Program Coordinator for Duval County youth mental health treatment court, and has responsibility to assure implementation and operation of the program adheres to quality standards, to ensure positive outcomes and community collaborations.
As Tiffany provided care for justice-involved individuals, she realized the importance of offering extra support to help them successfully transition into adulthood.
Meet the Board.
Upward & Onward Jacksonville, Inc. in all-volunteer collective and Board of Directors are dedicated to the vision of creating a community where youth can flourish into adulthood.
B. Gibbs, President
C. Jelks, Secretary
D. Norman, Treasurer
