The Young Men’s Leadership Program is a youth leadership development initiative designed to help young people cultivate positive life and career paths n order to become strong community leaders. We reach out to youth ages 14-18 that have limited support and to assist young people to acquire organizational and leadership skills.

The Young Men’s Leadership Program conducts a series of activities to develop personal skills, resistance skills, and social skill to become young community leaders.

Objectives

• To provide/promote diverse group of young men between the ages of 14-18 years old in a safe, drug and alcohol free environment
• To establish an appropriate program for youth during after school hours
• Develop a positive structure and implement educational, community service, cultural activities, and recreational settings that encourage the development of mutual trust between other youth, youth workers and the community.

Program Benefits

The Young Men’s Leadership Program’s participants are offered all of the activities offered at the Teen Center:

• Recreational Games: ping-pong, billiards, fuzz-ball games, chess & domino games;
• Weight-lifting: teaching youth the importance of keeping their bodies and mind fit;
• Soccer: promoting the sport practice between youth and develop positively the moral, educational, and occupational improvement of the athletes;
• Fieldtrips/Picnics: for the participants to experience/sense a different kind of environ ment in a safe, drug & alcohol free zone;
• Workshops: HIV, STD’s, teen prevention preg-nancy, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, personal hygiene and substance abuse;
• Mentoring: one on one mentoring or group mentoring and referrals to Social Services Division;
• Movie Night: for the participants who have improved academically or whose behavior has been exceptional at the Teen Center; and
• Summer Youth Employment Registration.

Program Activities

• Rap Sessions: dialogues within the group in a close circle setting;
• Workshops on the following topics: importance of education, job skills, teen health, prevention pregnancy, STD’s, HIV, alcohol & tobacco, substance abuse, marijuana & peer pressure;
• Trips to Six Flags, Kings Dominion, Rehoboth Beach, Camping Trip, Canoeing, Picnics & professional sports games;
• Group Projects: organizing community events, mural projects, t-shirt making, etc; and
• Jail tour at the Patuxent Institution Reason Straight Program.

Eligibility

• Must attend school on a regular basis;
• Must adhere to LAYC rules & regulations;
• Must be between the ages of 14-18 years old.

Program Hours

The group meets after school from 4:00pm - 5:30pm, Monday and Wednesday, and some weekends during the summer.

For more information contact

Franklin Peralta
Outreach Developer
Tel. 202.319.2228
franklin@layc-dc.org