The
absence of fathers creates one of the greatest challenges facing many
inner-city youth. When dads aren't around, boys look for other role models
to follow. When they choose wrongly, it often leads them down the dangerous
road of despair, alienation, and poor academic performance that often leads
to criminal behavior and incarceration.
Since 1996, Male Advocacy in Pregnancy & Parenting (MAPP) Coalition, based in Richmond, California, has worked to stop this downward spiral by providing community educational workshops, empowerment forums, and one-on-one mentoring to enhance male leadership and personal responsibility in Oakland and Richmond. As MAPP Coalition Executive Director Darryl McMillon says, "As the black male goes, so goes the black family." Through their efforts over the years, MAPP has been able to steer dozens of potentially wayward young males onto constructive paths of education, jobs, and, where children are involved, into being responsible fathers who are actively engaged in their children's lives.
In April 2005, MAPP Coalition received a $14,040 Compassion Capital Fund grant from the Institute for Contemporary Studies (ICS) to build its capacity to recruit and train more adults as mentors and role models, increasing its outreach and offering marriage education to the increasing number of fatherless youth.
On Saturday, July 2, 2005, MAPP Coalition sponsored the "1st Annual Urban Family Restoration Summit" in Oakland. The summit's goal was to recruit adult males to be trained in Relationship Enhancement and Family Strengthening Education (RE and FSE) and become active role models and mentors for low-income inner-city youth. Over 140 adults and youth attended. 17 of the attending adults signed pledge forms to be trained as role models and mentors, providing MAPP with the capacity to expand it services to at-risk youth.
Additionally, as a result of the Capacity Building Trainings offered by ICS and the grant's support for the July 2 summit, MAPP Coalition negotiated a $10,000 grant with the Urban Services YMCA to facilitate the Brothers in Transition (BIT) project which commenced in October. This project will facilitate two eight-week courses of life enrichment workshops which will include RE & FSE components and engage many of the enlisted role models and mentors from previous outreach efforts.
"We're very excited about the direction we're going in," said Darryl McMillon. "ICS has helped us tremendously with the funding and tools we needed to jump to the next level. Thankfully, we'll be able to help many more young men get on the road to success."
