HKCA Youth Services

(Young Men & Woman Moving Mountains)

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HKCA Youth Service is a nonprofit sector providing mentoring programs for middle and high school youth in the St Louis County/City area. The program will form partnerships with local school districts and the juvenile court system. HKCA's Youth Service goal is to foster a commitment to young people that will promote pro-social friendships, strong interpersonal skills, and reassert a sense of hope in the future. Only through personal relationships can a sense of individual responsibility be reestablished that will give youth the commitment to follow through on path to adulthood with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Through repeated failures in the classroom and the development of destructive habits, at-risk young people have lost faith in the possibilities that await them if they are successful in putting their lives together. To accomplish this goal, young people must be in a caring, inclusive learning environment that promotes their best effort and reinforces personal respect.

HKCA Youth Service is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young people that are either falling through the cracks at school or are already entangled with the juvenile court system. The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going to have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer a positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. The focus is slightly different at each level but the goal remains the same; empowering our youth to make positive changes in his/her life.

HKCA Youth Service will focus primarily on middle school youths. It is projected that within three years, 50% of the system's students will be in middle school. This age group can be problematic and a perfect time for mentoring to be effective.

HKCA Youth Service mentoring programs will pair a youth with a mentor for 12 months. During that time the two will participate in weekly planned activities to strengthen the relationship between the two and improve the young person's confidence and hopefulness. Mentors will receive continuous training throughout the year and will participate in monthly meetings to report the young person's progress.

Over time, HKCA Youth Service will create a learning environment that will be an invaluable resource to young people, aspiring mentors and the community at large.