ASAS Rising Stars Mentoring: Multi-state mentoring program for low opportunity youth in metropolitan areas

After-School All-Stars (ASAS) intends to expand and enhance its current crime prevention/youth mentoring programs with the creation of a new initiative, ASAS Rising Stars Mentoring program. This funding will allow ASAS to reach 900 at-risk youth struggling with multiple risk factors that contribute to juvenile crime and truancy in 28 metropolitan communities in four states and the District of Columbia (Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Ohio, Washington, DC). ASAS’ hybrid (group and one-on-one) mentoring program targets at-risk youth (grades 6-12th) and directly addresses the following societal problems: the influence of early exposure to risk factors on later delinquent behavior, the achievement gap, critical need for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills, broken relationships between law enforcement and at-risk youth, and family engagement to support caregivers as advocates for their children.