BBBS-NYC Latino Youth Mentoring Program

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City (BBBS-NYC) proposes a 3-year program to develop and support the Latino Youth Mentoring Program (Latino YMP) for at-risk Latino youth enrolled at Progress High School for Professional Careers (PHS) and Franklin K. Lane High School (FKL) in Brooklyn, NY. Recognizing that youth exhibiting delinquency, school truancy, anti-social attitudes and aggression are susceptible to recruitment by and participation in gang activity, BBBS-NYC has devoted resources and strategic planning for ongoing work with these at-risk youth and their families. The Latino YMP model is a school-based peer mentoring program that reduces risk factors and increases protective factors to prevent gang participation and reduce or prevent delinquency, violence, dropping out of school, and truancy. The Latino YMP will work with students in grades 9-12, with a special emphasis on those of Latino heritage, particularly immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Peer mentors will be in their junior or senior year of high school, while mentees will be incoming freshmen or sophomores newly entering the schools. BBBS-NYC will implement the program at PHS in year one and expand to include FKL in year two. A total of 340 students will be served during the three-year project period (this may include a duplicated count of students since some peer mentors will serve two years).

The Latino YMP is a one-to-one mentoring model with a curriculum developed by BBBS-NYC staff based on the theoretical concentric circles model often used in social work to help participants examine the interrelationships between themselves, their families and communities. The program will introduce students to different curriculum topics and will provide them with the tools to make better decisions about their future and learn more about themselves, their families and communities. The program emphasizes teamwork and seeks to give the students confidence to pursue their goals.

CA/NCF