It takes a courageous and proven model.
Each child is paired with a paid professional mentor called a Friend.
92% of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country or enter the workforce.
83% of youth receive their high school diploma or GED.
93% of youth remain free from involvement in the juvenile justice system.
98% of youth wait to parent until after their teen years.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the land on which we work is part of the ancient homeland and traditional territories of the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Myaamia, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kaskaskia, and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) peoples. The region has also long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban Indigenous communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this community continue to contribute to the life of this city and to celebrate their heritage, practice traditions, and care for the land and waterways. We honor the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Myaamia, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kaskaskia, Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) peoples and other caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who lived here before, the Indigenous today, and the generations to come.