OUR MISSION & HISTORY

Mission

Young Man with a Plan delivers holistic mentoring that helps over 375 young Black and Latino men in Boston build brotherhood, make academic and social-emotional gains, and access sustainable futures.

We create a new culture of brotherhood, respect, and aspiration for Boston’s Black and Latino teens to help them achieve college, career, and life success.

We serve young men in the middle: youth in grades 7-12 who are often overlooked because they’re neither the high-flyers nor the acutely at-risk. They lack a place to belong and benefit greatly from sustained guidance and mentorship. We continue to serve alumni through age 24+.

We recruit participants from our 8 partner schools in Boston, which allows our dedicated team of 8 in-school mentors to provide frequent and immediately accessible support.

Combined with our weekly after-school group programming led by skilled staff mentors, young men receive 3+ hours of mentoring weekly.

YMWAP achieves results through 5 research-informed strategies:

Connecting youth to caring adults
Strengthening academic, social emotional, and financial literacy skills
Individualized success planning
Quality partnerships
Creating a protective community

YMWAP is led by Executive Director Jaykyri Simpson, Ed.D., whose doctoral research on Black male college persistence affirmed the value of mentoring and the degree to which young Black men crave explicit guidance respectfully delivered by trusted people.

History

Launched in 2015, YMWAP was a direct response to a 2014 meeting of cross-sector Boston school leaders who, deeply troubled by achievement gaps, academic disengagement, and increasing neighborhood violence, named their most urgent concern as “high school men of color in the middle.”

Since our initial seed funding from the Charles Hayden Foundation, YMWAP has grown from 1 staff leader, 8 school-based mentors, and 30 students, into a staff team of 8, mentor team of 18, and 375 students and alums. We have added college and career curriculum, built a near-peer youth mentoring program, and were a Social Innovation Forum Innovator in 2022.

In 2021, YMWAP rented upstairs space in Hyde Park. In 2024, YMWAP expanded this program space, additionally renting the ground-floor space below our existing office, adding 3,000 sq. ft. newly built out with a fitness area, kitchen, shower, and washer-dryer – providing our young men with a space designed especially for them.

Formerly under fiscal agency, YMWAP received 501c3 status in 2023 – a significant milestone for the growing organization!

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We know the value of mentoring through our own experiences as teenagers—the critical guidance we received “just in time,” as well as situations where we would have benefitted from additional coaching. As leaders of Young Man with a Plan, we hope to help our young men avoid some of the potholes we drove into on the road of life!

We know that it is a challenging world out there for our students and that many of them don’t see a place for themselves or a clear path forward. We also believe Boston (and beyond) offers endless opportunities if only our young men are aware of them and ready for them. We help students in the program to develop a belief system that elevates their vision of who they are capable of becoming and a Success Plan that outlines the steps to achieve it.

“YMWAP has been a great benefit in my life. Ever since the first session it felt like a family and put me with a group of role models who actually care about me and my future. YMWAP has changed the way I view myself and the goals I want to set forth for my life.”

OUR APPROACH

Young Man with a Plan:

Is a 5+-year program of sustained holistic mentoring serving 375 Black and Latino teens and young adults ages 14 – 24
Serves students “in the middle” who both have potential and are at risk of getting lost
Has a focus on both academic and social-emotional growth
Provides a safe place for young men from 8 Boston schools, all Boston neighborhoods and different cultures to meet together to share their hopes, fears, challenges and achievements
Is led by Dr. Jaykyri Simpson, whose doctoral research focused on college persistence in Black males, and a talented program staff
Has a men of color mentor team of 8, one in each participating school, who support students, form a supportive brotherhood, receive annual professional development, and bring the learning back into their schools
Helps students understand college/career options and develop a Success Plan
Includes community service, cultural events, and a NH weekend wilderness trip
Provides opportunities for young men to meet and learn from successful men through their leaders, mentors, Men of Color Career Night, and enrichment like filmmaking, writing, and financial literacy.
Is guided by a diverse Board

Why is this work so important?

At YMWAP, we wake up every day called to action by studies illuminating Boston’s racial wealth and life expectancy gaps.

YMWAP is dedicated to closing these gaps through educating, mentoring, and exposing students to new ideas, places, experiences and college and career options.

What Distinguishes YMWAP From Other Mentoring Programs?

1. Our Outcomes

More than 75% of our young men progress academically and nearly 100% grow socially and emotionally. Negative outcomes like teen parenthood, involvement in the criminal justice system, relationship violence, drug or alcohol abuse, and school suspension or expulsion are nearly nonexistent.

2. Demand for Our Program

YMWAP has a great and growing reputation. Our roster is full and the demand continues with constant requests to join or bring a friend. This is rarely the case for an after-school program that high school students must travel to! To meet this increased demand, we have recently expanded into 7th and 8th grade.

3. Our Authentic Culture of Belonging & Accountability

YMWAP is cross sector/cross race/cross neighborhood/cross culture. We have created a brotherhood that builds understanding, breaks down walls, and disrupts violence.

Sustained mentoring through high school and during early college and career builds trusting relationships, encouraging young men to make good choices and pursue their full potential.

Our retention rate is over 90%.

Accountability is our love language

Young men enthusiastically attend weekly group meetings where they build brotherhood, check in and learn. Our work, however, continues outside of group with ongoing 1: 1 communication and coaching, often to address acute issues experienced at home, school or in relationships.

Our leaders and extended mentor team serve as role models for brotherhood, provide support for each other, and encourage each other’s growth.