HISTORY & MISSION
The My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Houston initiative aims to address inequitable conditions faced by our city’s youth, particularly boys and young men of color and aims to provide everyone with the tools and information needed to properly educate and motivate our next generation of leaders. Some of these tools can be provided by colleges and universities, that are great helpers to their graduates when it comes to assistance in writing resumes or creation of leadership programs through which students may get real-world experience. The Houston Health Department serves as the backbone organization of MBK to leverage the expertise of nonprofits, agencies, educational institutions and other partners to coalesce around strategies and evidence-based methodologies and programs seeking to increase opportunities and close disparity gaps that persist in our communities.
President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper program in February 2014, in response to the death of Trayvon Martin. The program sought to address the persistent opportunity gaps boys and young men of color face and to ensure all young people can reach their full potential.
We believe communities are the unit of change to realize improved life outcomes for boys and young men of color. Research shows that the collective work of community leaders, members, and public and private agencies pursuing the same goals for boys and young men of color can lead to sustainable, place-based change.
In 2018, 19 organizations across 10 states and Puerto Rico were chosen as national models to expand evidence-based initiatives to reduce youth violence, grow effective mentorship programs, and measurably improve the lives of boys and young men of color. The MBK Alliance team is working with these Impact and Seed communities to support the development of long-term strategic plans that chart life outcomes changes for boys and young men of color across the six milestones.
The Alliance is working with partners to offer tools, resources, and convening opportunities designed to support the growing network of nearly 250 MBK Communities that participated in the My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge.
Our goal is to bolster the network of MBK Communities and all those that share our mission while promoting action, strengthening interventions, and sharing practices and policies that work.
THE SIX MILESTONES TO SUCCESS
Research and experience have identified key milestones on the path to adulthood that are especially predictive of later success, and where interventions can have the greatest impact. At each of these markers, we see some children start to fall behind.
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