Location
Marks, MS
About the Organization
The Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Inc., Boyz-to-Men Safe Passage Program will organize educational programs and activities targeting at-risk males ages 8-18, who reside in four rural Mississippi Delta counties.
Goal of the Project
The project goals are to: 1) facilitate the development of responsible sexual behavior among participating teens by offering adolescent reproductive health education and activities; 2) strengthen the role of parents and other adult family members in promoting sexual responsibility and increasing their understanding of, involvement in, and responsibility for adolescent pregnancy prevention; and 3) recruit, screen, and train teen mentors who will work in the in-school and after school program providing information, small group leadership, role modeling, and support to participating youth.
Approach of the Project
Outreach activities will be expanded to include seven faith-based institutions to further increase male involvement services in outlying rural areas. Additionally, the program will blend new services with existing agency programs to provide a holistic reproductive health education model that can be replicated in other rural communities. The Boyz-to-Men Safe Passage Program uses the Health Behavior Change Theory