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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia's Office of Violence Prevention Administrator D'Markus Thomas-Brown is looking to help youth reach their academic and career goals. "Anecdotally, CPS and different organizations have identified that 13-to-17 age range where we're seeing some of the violence," Thomas-Brown said. "So, a program that targets that directed demographic and seeing the success they have with the mentorship and the workforce development it was just mind boggling to me and I was like this is a no brainer." Thomas-Brown said the idea stems from a recent trip city leaders took to Columbia, South Carolina. The program would mirror Young Men United, a youth mentoring program Columbia, South Carolina launched in the spring of 2023. Jabari Bodrick, director of education and resiliency at the United Way of the Midlands in South Carolina, said their program is based off the MKE scholars program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program touts an 85% college graduation rate from its participants. According to Bodrick, the initiative focuses on surrounding boys in 10th and 11th grades with year-round development opportunities through workshops, internships, job-shadowing experience and mentorship. The program focuses specifically on working with youth to clarify their career goals and life goals to move forward in life. "What separates young men in this from other programs is that we stay with young men until they enter the workforce," Bodrick said. "So, if we meet you when you're 16 years old in 10th grade, and we use them as students in 10th and 11th grade, we stay with you until you enter the workforce." Bodrick said the program is volunteer-based, including both those who are in the program, as well as those who work as mentors. He said it works with young men in 10th and 11th grade because they want to make sure they've adjusted and acclimated to high school. "You can never start too early. I'd love it if we had young boys and started in kindergarten, but it's just not realistic," Bodrick said. Thomas-Brown said the program for Columbia, Missouri. is in the preliminary stage, and he's currently looking into the feasibility of the program, as well as which community-based organizations in the city would possibly take it on. The city currently has several youth mentor programs, and programs that work with at-risk youth. Job Point Columbia also focuses on helping people find jobs in the city through career planning. Thomas-Brown said he thinks the young mens program differs from these because it would be specifically school-based. If launched, schools would be able to identify students they think could participate. That would then be followed-up with an application. As a leader who works toward early intervention initiatives in the city to help reduce crime, Thomas-Brown said he doesn't think the program itself would stop young men from turning toward violence. Rather, he believes it would give them the opportunity for something else. "Give them opportunities to HVAC, open them up to the Missouri Conservation Department or open them up to welding," Thomas-Brown said. "I think it helps provide another venue and gives them another reason to not do something that's going to be adverse to their development long-term like prison, incarceration or death." Thomas-Brown said the program would focus on both helping young men get to college, but also enter into a career path instead for those who don't wish to take the college route. He said he also thinks it could be beneficial for youth who may not have parental guidance. "I think some of the young men who didn't even know how to do a college visit, but they were sought because of their athletic abilities but didn't have the parental guidance to get them to their college visit," Thomas-Brown said. "So, they didn't go to college, or they went and they took a very, very low bar access when they could have just been able to go to their mentor to look at the offer letters and what to look at." Lonnie Lockhart Bey, who works with at-risk youth through Destiny of H.O.P.E. said he welcomes any mentorship programs in the city. "There are enough children in there and there are not enough agencies to really fulfill that role so whatever is brought here and is going to benefit the children, I definitely agree with," Lockhart Bey said.
