The effects of COVID-19 left many young people feeling disconnected from others and unsure how to navigate everyday challenges, especially in underserved communities, where support and opportunity can be harder to access.
Helping young people takes more than good intentions. It takes patience, consistency, empathy, and a willingness to walk beside them, step by step, until they feel confident moving forward on their own. Too often, the people who want to help may not realize how much steady guidance and encouragement a young person needs.
This work is deeply personal to me. I’m driven by a passion for helping young people feel seen, supported, and capable of reaching their potential. I believe this is part of my purpose: to show up, keep encouraging them, and help them find their way, even when progress takes time. Not everyone is called to serve in the same way, but I know this is where my heart is. My commitment to young people is unshakable.
Our proposal
Young men released from secure youth facilities are routinely returned to the same environments that contributed to their initial involvement in the justice system. Without structure, supervision, or opportunity, many reoffend within months of release.
We are seeking funding and partnership support to establish a 25-bed Transitional Reentry Home in Mobile, Alabama, serving young men ages 16 to 18 who are exiting secure youth centers and have completed or are completing high school.
The home will provide safe housing, strict accountability, workforce training, education continuation, transportation, counseling, mentorship, and faith-based and character development, all under experienced leadership with a proven commitment to youth advocacy and rehabilitation.
As soon as a young man leaves a facility, these five things matter most.
Legal photo ID. A state ID or driver’s license, with help gathering required documents if needed.
A safe place to stay. Confirm where he will sleep and who is responsible for his safety.
A trusted adult and reentry contact. Identify a reliable person who can help with appointments, decisions, and emergencies.
Health and mental health care. Arrange follow-up appointments, medication access, and support for coping with the transition.
A way to meet daily needs and move forward. Plan transportation, phone access, clothing, school enrollment, or job steps.
Whenever possible, arrange these before release, and make sure the young person knows who to contact for help.
Every resident takes part in mandatory mental health therapy and classes, at least twice a week, with a certified mental health therapist.
The case
Youth reentry is one of the most fragile points in the juvenile justice system.
Sending a young man back into the same environment, with no intervention, does not rehabilitate him.
The standard
Each participant exits the program with four non-negotiable outcomes already in place.
Before discharge, every young man will have:
No one leaves without academic or vocational progress.
Participants will exit with one of the following:
Employers and training partners are engaged before the youth exits, not after.
Each youth will transition into:
No youth is released back into instability.
Before exit, each participant will have:
They leave equipped to move independently.
After exit
Leaving the house does not mean losing support.
For at least 12 months after exit, participants receive: