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M.B.M.
knows just how valuable our children are.
We also know that violence and crime have become an
epidemic in our society. This rampant plague has in
turn fueled the negative behavior of our children,
most of whom lack strong mentors in their lives;
therefore, many of our children have become local
and national statistics. A survey done by the
National Center for Health Statistics, showed
that “every 78 seconds a teen attempts
suicide, and every 90 seconds they succeed.” Often
times they turn their anger inward, yet many times
they become outwardly violent. The following graph
was taken from a decade long survey done by The
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion. It depicts the “Percentage of
High School Students Who Carried a Weapon” to
school.
In
addition, according to a study done by
www.fightcrime.com, after-school hours are the
prime time for:
·
Kids to commit crime
·
Kids to become victims of crime
·
Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds to be
injured in a car crash
·
Children to experiment with smoking,
illegal drugs and alcohol
M.B.M.
is committed to re-claiming young men
through the vision God has given us. Our program
will do its part to dismantle what is still a very
large societal crisis. We will return
hope to youth who have
become desensitized to a society that is over-ridden
with violence, wars, and daily tragedies.
What could be the cause of this epidemic?
“Criminal behavior
experts and social scientists are finding evidence
that the epidemic of youth violence and gangs is
related to the breakdown of the two-parent family.”
- San Francisco Chronicle. The
single-parent family (mainly with a female as the
head of the household) has become a phenomenon over
the decades. The San Jose Mercury News
reported that according to The National
Fatherhood Institute, “18 million children live
in single-parent homes.” KIDS COUNT 2004
National Data (www.kidscount.org)
ranked the State of Georgia as number 36 out of 49
(49 being the worst) in a poll for:
Percent of families with
children headed by a single parent.
Additionally, according to The Center for
Children’s Justice, Inc., children from these
fatherless homes often times are:
Ø
5 times
more likely to commit suicide
Ø
32 times
more likely to run away
Ø
20 times
more likely to have behavioral disorders
Ø
14 times
more likely to commit rape
Ø
9 times
more likely to drop out of high school
Ø
10 times
more likely to abuse chemical substances
Ø
9 times
more likely to end up in a state-operated
institution
Ø
20 times
more likely to end up in prison
M.B.M.
will bring about a life-altering change
in the youth we touch. By pairing each youth in the
program with a mentor, we will be able to impart
much needed love and guidance into their lives.
The youth of today are
violent because they have no one to talk to, and if
no one does anything to stop it, teen violence will
remain an ongoing phenomenon. The following graph
depicts that the Rate
of Teen Deaths by Accident, Homicide, and Suicide
(deaths per 100,000 teens ages 15–19) are again on
the rise in Georgia.
M.B.M.
will teach the youth in our program that
the answers to their problems are not
found in drugs, violence,
or worse- death; but rather that they have many
positive, life-affirming options for their futures.
Why We Focus on Young Men
M.B.M.
has found the
following disheartening statistics indicating that:
“Gang recruitment is a powerful lure for the
products of broken homes and single-parent
households, as gang members are likely to receive
little guidance or attention from family members at
home.” - Chicago Crime Commission Report.
In addition, the study: “Caught in the
Crossfire: Arresting Gang Violence by Investing in
Kids,” states that: “while funding of juvenile
programs was being cut, gang activity has been
spreading rapidly from Los Angeles to the rest of
the country, and homicides linked to juveniles in
gangs have soared nationally.”
We
see it on the news and read it in the papers almost
daily, that boys from single-parent homes are much
more likely to be involved in a gang, incarcerated,
unemployed, and uninvolved with their own children
when they become fathers. Fatherless boys get only
sporadic glimpses of what men do, and thus receive
few clues as to what they're supposed to become…
therefore, the need for our program
is great.
Standing firmly behind our motto: “A boy
cannot be a man until he sees a real man, spends
time with a real man, and is exposed to the make-up
of a real man” our
mentors are devoted to
filling a void in young men’s lives. We will
step in to impart wisdom, providing the male
perspective that these young men cannot get from
their single mothers. Through wise counsel, these
young men will receive an array of insight, ranging
from subjects such as: how to treat women, to how to
maintain proper health and hygiene. We envision
that the young men in our program will become voices
of reason among their peers. Through the evolution
they experience by being a part of our program, they
will in turn bring about positive changes in other
young men, 8-18. Their changes will inevitably lead
to a decline in the alarming crime statistics, gang
involvement, and incarceration percentages.
What Sets Us Apart?
According to President George W. Bush: "Every
day in America, parents struggle to raise their
children in a culture that too often glorifies
instant gratification and irresponsible behavior,
during this time of great change in our nation,
government must stand with families to help them
raise healthy, responsible children." - CULTURE
DIGEST. And according to:
www.fightcrime.com, “after-school programs have
been proven to do just that, by reducing crime,
preventing other risky behavior, and teaching values
and skills.”
That
is exactly what
M.B.M.
is positioned to do for the Metro Atlanta
youth who take part in our program. We recognize
that many of the young men who will come to us have
a great deal of potential and a good heart, yet they
are currently off track, lost, and wandering in the
desert... in need of immediate redirection.
We are prepared to provide that positive
distraction from the lure of the streets. Our goal
is to put these young men on the road to access all
of the opportunities that the world has to offer.
But first, we will remove the barriers that keep
them from succeeding. Through the many outlets our
program offers, such as: One-on-One counseling
sessions, Group Counseling sessions, and Drug &
Alcohol Awareness sessions, we will work closely
with the young men to ensure that they are prepared
to be assets to society.
M.B.M.
will not only make an impact on the young
men participating in the program, but we are focused
on impacting the entire Atlanta Metro area. We are
an outlet through which young men, and their
families, can express their impressions of life,
feelings, ideas, frustrations and dreams without the
fear of being silenced or ridiculed. We will
provide the young men in our program with
instruction on: Drug & Alcohol Awareness,
Conflict-Resolution, and Abstinence-
which they often do not receive at school, at home,
or from their peers. We will also provide:
One-on-One Counseling, Group Counseling,
Parent-Child Counseling, G.E.D. Programs,
Tutorial Programs, Health & Hygiene Programs,
Theological Studies Programs, and the
opportunity to learn a variety of Trades. In
addition, our program will allow the young men the
opportunity to be involved in Sports Camps,
which will improve their skills on working as a
team, as well as help them to live healthy and fit
lifestyles. |
