St. Paul Henning-Harrison Collaborative Male Mentoring Initiative Form 2

Child Name

First Name

Last Name

Date of Birth

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Guardian Name

First Name

Last Name

Phone Numer

(###)

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Email

Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Emergency Contact

List 3, if possible

Name of hospital to carry child for emergency:

Allergies

Please list any medical problems or any foods child is allergic to:

Does your child take any Medications?

Yes

No

If yes, explain

N/A, if no

Will your child walk, be picked up or dropped off

The program is not responsible for your child walking to and from the program.

Yes

No

Name & Telephone number of person to release child to:

Name of Person not to release child to:

I grant permission for the male participant to be photographed and used for Public Relations only.

Yes

No

I certify that __________________________can participate in the St. Paul Saturdays. I certify that all the information listed above is accurate to the best of your knowledge and that the person who is signing this document is the legal guardian of the child participating in the program.

Name of Child

To finalize your submission, we require your electronic signature. Please sign below by entering your full name in the designated text field.

First Name

Last Name

Date of Submission

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St. Paul Henning-Harrison Collaborative Male Mentoring Initiative

The Harrison-Henning Male Mentoring Initiative offers a whole-person approach to developing Black boys and young adults through strategic group mentoring. The National Center Mentoring Resource Center notes that “research points to a range of potential benefits of formal and informal mentoring for African-American boys, including in the areas of academic, social-emotional well-being, mental health, and preventing risky behaviors.” Our strategy engages all eligible boys, their families, and the community in pouring their individual and collective strength into program participants to instruct and guide them into healthy, productive manhood. The initiative’s central focus continues our commitment to male mentorship and is augmented by enhanced academic, social, mental health, and emotional growth services that support participants in becoming their best selves.

We know that the health of children and youth is a strong indicator of the health of the family and the larger community. In our region, particularly St. Louis City, our youth have been impacted by a systemic assault on their well-being, as documented by studies of our local area. This data that clearly demonstrates the negative impact on Black youth is correlated with similar findings in other urban regions, reflecting a national problem that some have labeled an epidemic. Available data and anecdotal and experiential evidence show that the St. Paul Saturdays mentoring program has a significant positive impact on the outcomes for its Black male participants. Our response to the current need for strong community-based leadership amidst the ongoing displacement and disenfranchisement of black families and resulting community instability is rooted in the belief that within the problem lies the solution - in the assets that address the immediate symptoms as well as root causes. The St. Paul Henning-Harrison Collaborative Male Mentoring Initiative (St. Paul Male Mentoring Initiative) incorporates proven strategies and best practices for proactive development of boys and young men, ages 8-18. The St. Paul Male Mentoring Initiative is a strategic model for meeting the needs of Black males through direct service programs that include family and community strengthening and support. The Initiative is an asset-based approach to serving our youth and their families to create a thriving environment that fosters optimum physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Through a focus on self-awareness and mutual respect, the initiative operates from an overall mindset that promotes community belonging, accountability, responsibility, engagement, and strength reflected in each program component. We embrace a family-strengthening and community-building mindset. We know that youth are our future, but they are also our present, offering a strong indication of the overall health of our communities. We cannot effectively engage youth and young adults without engaging the families and communities in which they live. Our programming focuses on using our children’s, families’, and communities’ strengths to improve outcomes for Black children.

Our strengths-based approach is rooted in the belief that just as the problems within the community are identified as endemic to the community, we can also find solutions to those problems. “The solution is in the problem,” offering answers that not only resolve the immediate symptoms, but also resolve their root causes. The Henning-Harrison Male Mentoring Initiative at St. Paul incorporates proven strategies and best practices for proactive development of boys and young men, ages 8-18. The St. Paul Collaborative Male Mentoring Initiative is a strategic model for meeting the needs of Black males through direct service programs that include family and community strengthening and support. The Initiative is an asset-based approach to serving our youth and their families to create a thriving environment that fosters optimum physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Through a focus on a positive perspective, self-awareness, and mutual respect, the initiative operates from an overall mindset that promotes community belonging, accountability, responsibility, engagement, and strength reflected in each program component.

Program Structure

The St. Paul Male Mentoring Initiative is an intentional comprehensive strategy for the organization’s focused community engagement, outreach, and support programming. The initiative offers programming for TANF-eligible youth, young males, and others who meet federal income-eligibility guidelines. The St. Paul Male Mentoring Initiative focuses its efforts on youth and young men (8 to 18) who will participate in one or more services, providing age-appropriate programming and service that promotes positive behavior, nonviolence, and community responsibility. The Initiative serves participants Monday-Friday 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., August through May; and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., year-round with short breaks in certain months to observe school and general holidays. The Initiative will be led by a Program Director and Facilitator/Mentoring Manager. Program services will be administered by paid and volunteer staff, interns, and Community Fellows. Programming will be offered from September 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, through the following:

Paul Saturdays Mentoring (male youth 8-18)
St. Paul Safety Initiative Program (After-School and Summer Academic Enrichment (male youth 10 and under and 8-18)
Ubuntu Rites of Passage (14-17)

Four-Fold Service Model

Direct On-Site Services to 8-18-Year-Olds
Strategic Diverse Partnerships and Community Referral Resources
Evidence-Based Family Engagement Practices
Wraparound Enrichment and Empowerment Services

Strategies for Success

Enhanced Academic Exposure, Support, and Recovery
Goal Setting College, Career, and Entrepreneurship
STEAM Science and Arts Engagement
Community service and accountability
Urban agriculture
Field experiences/Outings
Conflict Resolution
Collaboration and Teamwork
Emotional Intelligence
Healthy eating
Physical activity and Athletics
Leadership Development
Outcome Measurement
Healthy Relationship Skills

A Community-Building and Family Engagement Mindset

We know that youth are our future, but they are also an important part of our present, offering a vital contribution to and strong indication of the overall health of our communities. We cannot effectively engage youth and young adults without engaging the families and communities in which they live. Our programming focuses on using our children’s, families’ and communities’ strengths to improve outcomes for Black children. According to Youth.gov Family engagement is essential in promoting healthy physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development, and academic achievement of children and youth from pre-K to high school. Research shows that when families are meaningfully and continuously engaged in their children’s learning and development, they can positively impact their child’s health, development, academic, and well-being outcomes into adulthood. Our history, experiences, values, and perspective have helped shape the understanding of family as “including parents and other adult caregivers, acknowledging...varied family units and including biological, adoptive, and foster parents; grandparents; legal and informal guardians; and adult siblings. One asset in our local communities continues to be the concern for and commitment to strong communities, which requires a mutual understanding. Our program is committed to mending the disconnect that creates a weakened community infrastructure by building on the existing presence of family and community commitment, bonds, and practices.

The program structure prioritizes building strong and effective partnerships with families that can help children and families thrive. Our family-focused engagement connects them with the community through our community collaborations that provide resources to help us develop and maintain “positive, ongoing, and goal-oriented relationships with families”(HHS, Youth.gov). Strong family engagement happens when families have a primary and meaningful role in all decision-making that impacts every young person and their families. Meaningful family engagement is about improving outcomes for all youth and families and happens at the system level, the service level, and at the individual service level, where agency partners and a single family collaborate in making decisions that address their child’s unique strengths and needs and considers the family’s ideas of success. Meaningful family engagement requires that state and local leaders champion and model family partnerships anchored by mutual respect, shared authority, two-way communication, and a commitment to a common vision and shared goals to improve outcomes for every young person and their family.

Submitted By: Rev. Dr. Spencer Lamar Booker, Pastor, Dr. Evangeline Frye, PHD, Director. (July 2023)