Youth in Action, Inc. (YIA) was formed in 1963 when the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council received a grant to develop a youth services program in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community. The Council decided to create YIA as its own organization rather than running it under the umbrella of the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council. Early staff members drew inspiration from existing social action organizations such as Mobilization for Youth and Harlem Youth Opportunities (HARYOU), spending the first months of operation researching and reporting on the needs of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community.

The passing of the Economic Opportunities Act of 1964 allowed YIA continued funding and led to the development of programs such as Training for Young Unwed Mothers, Youth Leadership Training Institute, Educational Remediation, and Cultural Arts. The increased funds allowed the organization to expand quickly, with many of their new hires coming from the community.

In July 1966 employees protested the organization, accusing them of under-representing the Puerto Rican population of Bedford-Stuyvesant and demanded that the organization's programs take more direct action in the community. The protests were followed by employee resignations, including Executive Director Dorothy Orr. Orr was replaced by Walter Pinkston, who served as Executive Director until his termination in September 1969.

A 1966 amendment to the Economic Opportunities Act called for greater involvement of community members in the social action organizations that represented them. YIA responded by converting to the Bedford-Stuyvesant Youth in Action Community Corporation. Over 500 community members voted unanimously for the conversion which was approved by the Council Against Poverty in March 1967. A new Board of Directors was elected by community members to represent Bedford-Stuyvesant's five sub-districts.

By 1967 YIA had a staff of 300 with an additional 1,300 training aids and received $6.4 million dollars for the 1967-1968 fiscal year. The funds were directed to a variety of programs including job training, legal services and the popular Young Mothers program. The organization's rapid expansion allowed for increased services but also accusations of fund mismanagement, administrative oversight and cronyism. Years of factionalism and political in-fighting further destabilized the organization's mission, resulting in the June 1976 suspension of the Board of Directors. The organization was disbanded by the Koch administration in 1978.