Youth Guidance implements it's Becoming A Man (BAM) and Working On Womanhood (WOW) programs in partnership with six Dallas Independent School District (DISD) schools: Carter High School, North Dallas High School, Pinkston High School, Samuell High School, Skyline High School, and South Oak Cliff High School. BAM and WOW are school-based mentoring programs that improve the psychological, social-emotional, and behavioral competencies of students in grades 6-12. Students who participate in BAM and WOW will experience improved social-emotional well-being, increased school engagement and academic attainment, and greater utilization of healthy behaviors.
The programs are delivered by BAM and WOW Youth Specialists that work full-time within partner schools, delivering a dynamic blend of group sessions and individual support services that guide students as they learn, practice, and internalize social-emotional skills. BAM and WOW Youth Specialists take great care to create a positive group dynamic and foster trust among participants. This safe space, paired with curriculum-based skill building activities, fosters the development of values, competencies, and mindsets that serve as building blocks for long-term success.
BAM and WOW are evidence-based programs that have received national attention for their impacts on participants' psychological well-being, academic attainment, and crime reduction. BAM was the subject of two randomized control trials from the University of Chicago Crime Lab. In their most recent report , Crime Lab Researchers concluded that BAM participants were 50% less likely to be arrested for violent crime than the control group and 35% less likely to be arrested overall. BAM participants were 25% more engaged in school (based on attendance, GPA, and persistence data) and graduated high school at 19% higher rates than the control group. Researchers estimate, that based upon BAM's impact on crime alone, society gains $30 benefits for every $1 invested in the program.
WOW recently completed its first randomized control trial with the University of Chicago Urban Labs. While findings are not yet published, preliminary results show that WOW participants with clinical symptoms of trauma, depression, and anxiety experienced reduction in symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (22%), depression (9%) and social anxiety (9%) while in the program.
Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education, and ultimately, to succeed in school and in life.
The Agency envisions a bright and successful future for every child and has been serving vulnerable youth in high-risk urban communities since 1924. Youth Guidance program's have operated full-time in primary and secondary schools since 1969, where highly skilled staff implement Counseling & Prevention, Community & Afterschool Programming, and Youth Workforce Development programs. These programs currently reach over 13,000 students in 168 schools across Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; Kansas City, MO; King County, WA; Los Angeles; CA, London, England, and Washington, DC.
Youth Guidance specializes in fostering social-emotional skill development across all programs, recognizing that these competencies serve as building blocks for academic, career, and life success. Youth Guidance staff meet young people where they are- physically and emotionally- to help them recognize and realize their full potential. They provide counseling, mentoring, support, academic enrichment, and skill-building services to students in the most under-resourced schools and communities, helping children create a foundation that translates into a lifetime of opportunity and success.
-Community leaders from Dallas' public, private, and philanthropic sectors to serve on Youth Guidance's Dallas Advisory Council (time commitment of 3 hours per month);
-Corporate and Foundation partners that are willing to sponsor (or provide grant funding) to support BAM and WOW implementation in Dallas Independent School District;
-Community partners that are seeking to provide enrichment opportunities to BAM and WOW students (i.e. corporate partners that can provide career exploration and job readiness services, community-based organizations that can provide after-school and summer programming).
Youth Guidance team members are seen and heard as powerful, liberated, and creative leaders internal to the organization and in the communities they serve. They feel cared for and supported by leadership and their unique identities are embraced as assets to the growth of Youth Guidance. Teams are able to work together across social and regional differences, using their creativity, compassion and person power to inspire and strengthen youth leadership.
Organization name
Youth Guidance
Causes
Mental/Behavioral Health, Youth & Children, Education - K-12
Operating Budget
$3,000,000 - $9,999,999
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
1919 McKinney Avenue Suite 100