The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced its support of Elev8 Baltimore through Forward Promise, the Foundation’s $9.5 million initiative to improve the health and success of boys and young men of color. Elev8 Baltimore received approximately $500,000 over 30 months to support its Adolescent Behavioral Health Partnership with the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Bayview. The partnership provides mental health support to fifth- to eighth-grade boys in East Baltimore, presenting them with skills they need to effectively manage stress and the effects of trauma, ultimately reducing levels of depression and anxiety.
Elev8 Baltimore was one of 10 organizations selected for their innovative community-based programs that strengthen health, education, and employment outcomes for middle school- and high school-aged boys and young men of color. From Alaska to Baltimore, the Foundation is investing in best practices and successful models that can be brought to scale. Elev8 Baltimore will use the grant to provide services to boys in two East Baltimore schools.
“Young boys of color are the future of our communities. With our school and behavioral health partners we are working to give students coping and resilience skills to mitigate the impact of stress, violence, and trauma they may experience at home, school, or in the community,” said Nicole Johnson, Senior Director of Elev8 Baltimore. “We are excited to have the resources to help put all of our young people on a path to a healthy and successful adulthood.”
RWJF launched Forward Promise in 2012 to address the fact that boys and young men of color are more likely to grow up in poverty, live in unsafe neighborhoods, and attend schools that lack the basic resources and supports that kids need in order to thrive. In addition, actions that might be treated as youthful indiscretions by other young men often are judged more severely and result in harsher punishments that have lasting consequences.
Statistics reflect these troubling trends: 44 percent of Latino males and 46 percent of African American males do not have a high school diploma, and Latino youth are two times more likely and African-American youth are five times more likely to be involved with the juvenile justice system than their white counterparts.
“So much of our health is shaped by forces beyond the doctor’s office that are rooted in where we live, learn, work, and play. Far too many boys and young men of color become disconnected from school and work opportunities, undermining their ability to live healthy lives and strengthen their communities,” said Maisha Simmons, RWJF program officer. “This innovative model is helping young men overcome significant challenges, and we look forward to working with Elev8 Baltimore to create a new future of hope for America’s young men of color.”
In partnership with each of the two schools, Elev8 Baltimore provides a full-time wellness coordinator; conducts baseline behavioral assessments to document and monitor symptoms of anger, anxiety and depression; introduces students to a mindfulness-based stress reduction program designed to improve skills to cope with trauma; links students to academic and social enrichment provided after school; and facilitates parent education designed to alleviate barriers to academic achievement. By integrating mental health services into school culture and normalizing such support among boys of color and their families, Elev8 Baltimore is working to stop the cycle of unmet mental health needs which can lead to poor school performance, continued poverty, criminal activity and in extreme circumstances, suicide.
Elev8 Baltimore, together with the other grantees supported through RWJF’s Forward Promise initiative, seeks to improve outcomes for African-American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and/or Native American boys and young men in one or more of the following areas: 1) school discipline approaches that do not push students out of school; 2) early interventions that focus on dropout prevention and increasing middle school retention and high school graduation rates; 3) mental health solutions tailored to young men who have been exposed to violence and trauma; and 4) career-training programs that address both education and employment to ensure that youth are college- and career-ready.
