B. Gibbs
President[Two-sentence bio — professional background and why they serve on this board.]
About us
We exist because one young man told the truth.
Upward & Onward Jacksonville, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2023, providing social services to youth and young adults vulnerable to homelessness — with particular focus on those involved in the juvenile justice system.
Our story
How we started
U&OJAX was founded shortly after a 15-year-old boy — a young man our founder, Tiffany Richardson, had counselled for years — was committed to youth prison. He had participated in and successfully completed specialty court. What he lacked wasn’t effort. It was support: from family, from community agencies, and from the juvenile justice system itself.
Before he transitioned into a commitment program to begin a lengthy sentence, he told Tiffany he wished the system hadn’t failed him — that it had offered a little more support until he was an adult. By the time he is released, he will be a young adult.
Making a change means acting before that point, not after. U&OJAX exists to support teenagers through the transition into adulthood, so the transition itself stops being the thing that breaks them.
Our work focuses on the core issues facing youth and young adults at risk of homelessness: workforce readiness, second-chance employment, life skills, and the mental health crisis among the justice-involved.
Our mission
To provide social services to individuals in our community, with special emphasis on youth and young adults experiencing vulnerable circumstances including housing instability and homelessness.
Our vision
A community where youth can flourish into adulthood.
Our commitment
To empower and ensure the wellbeing of marginalised youth and young adults at risk of homelessness through wrap-around support services.
Founder & CEO
Tiffany Richardson
A Jacksonville native and two-time graduate of the University of Central Florida, Tiffany holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in social work. She has spent her career inside the juvenile justice system, providing social supports and mental health outpatient care.
Her work extends to organisational programming and strategic planning, including oversight and reporting on a local juvenile justice initiative aimed at building a more effective system. She currently serves as Program Coordinator for Duval County’s youth mental health treatment court, responsible for ensuring the program meets quality standards and produces positive outcomes through community collaboration.
Caring for justice-involved individuals is what showed her how much extra support they need to make it into adulthood — and what U&OJAX was built to provide.
Leadership
Meet the board
Upward & Onward Jacksonville is an all-volunteer collective. Our Board of Directors is dedicated to the vision of a community where youth can flourish into adulthood.
C. Jelks
Secretary[Two-sentence bio — professional background and why they serve on this board.]
D. Norman
Treasurer[Two-sentence bio — professional background and why they serve on this board.]
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