What if ‌ St. Louis was the best place for Black boys to ‌ Grow up
Be healthy
Attend college
Find a good job?
How would that change lives? How would that change our region?
A Problem that is HomeGrown ‌ The death of Michael Brown emphasized the long-standing disparities in health, education, employment, and overall well-being experienced by Black boys and young men in our region. St. Louis lags too far behind its potential for prosperity and peace and will continue to do so if we do not improve the upward mobility of our young black males. A HOMEGROWN SOLUTION In response, the HomeGrown STL initiative has brought together a diverse group of regional stakeholders to invest in the creation of a 7-pillar Comprehensive Developmental System of Precision Care that advances the capacity and effectiveness of programs dedicated to improving the lives of Black boys and young men.
OUR GOAL: A REGIONAL TRANSFORMATION Our grand goal is to increase the upward mobility of approximately 60,000 Black boys and young men, ages 12-29, by the year 2039. What does that mean? Consecutive generations of Black boys and young men graduating high school, heading to college, finding good work with a livable wage, engaging as fathers and with their communities.
How does HomeGrown STL work? As a regional intermediary, HomeGrown STL brings together area researchers, service providers, funders, and advocates working to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent many Black boys and men from being socially and economically mobile. These barriers include: ▶ Lack of infrastructure for setting and coordinating regional priorities ▶ Lack of educational opportunity/skills development ▶ Unsafe and under-resourced neighborhoods ▶ Limited availability for employment ▶ Limited access to healthcare, both mental and physical ▶ Missing role models and sponsors
We work to disrupt fragmented care coordination by interacting and intervening in neighborhoods in need, using an intergenerational, community-science model. WE ARE: INCREASING knowledge of current services available with the creation of the Black Male Social Mobility Ecosystem. IDENTIFYING the planning, technical assistance, evaluation or capacity-building needs of programs. SHARING evidence-based practices and information for working effectively with young Black males through our networking breakfasts, trainings and annual summit. BUILDING a strategic network of organizations focused specifically on positive development. FOSTERING opportunities for strategic partnerships and inter-organizational collaborations. CELEBRATING young Black males who are striving and thriving against all odds. INVESTING in new strategic pilots to refine our work and scale up to serve all Black boys and young men in the region.
Our Approach To take HomeGrown STL to the streets, network Relentless Outreach & Engagement members will be conducting Catchment 8,000 Black Boys and Young Men Area Pilots (CAPS) to test Ages 12-29 in Relentless new strategies with the Six ZIP Codes Follow-up goal of improving the lives of the 8,000 Black boys and young men GRAND GOAL Intensive Case Enrollment ages 12 to 29. These 100% Increase Management & Assessment in Social Mobility pilot projects will be implemented in six ZIP Referral to codes from Jennings Data Sharing PPN HomeGrown STL South to Delmar & HomeGrown STL Preferred Providers Boulevard, known to Network Network (PPN) have great need for services. Findings will Expedited Service Delivery be used to develop a strategy to scale up for the entire region.
A Critical Investment We ask for passionate involvement and financial support to help us lead this unprecedented investment in Black male development in our region.
What can you do? If you are a service provider for Black boys and young men: ▶ Complete the HomeGrown STL registry ▶ Join Homegrown STL’s Preferred Provider Network ▶ Attend the next annual Regional Summit ▶ Apply for a Professional Development Grant ▶ Participate in an upcoming Strategic Networking Breakfast to share expertise, thoughts, resources, and collaboration opportunities
If you have the resources to make our city a place for all to prosper: ▶ Learn more about the critical work we are doing ▶ Discuss how your investment can make a real and measurable difference to St. Louis, its residents and its legacy
Did You Know? ▶ 2 out of 5 Black males in St. Louis are jobless ▶ Only 1 in 10 Black males is a college graduate ▶ Working Black males live on just $30 a day in St. Louis ▶ F rom 1980 to 2010, the median income of Black males
in this region fell by 62 percent. The percentage of Black males employed fell by 15 percent.*
We propose 7 pillars of comprehensive care to serve Black boys and young men.
1
Law
2
Housing
3
Banking & Financial Capability
4
Personal Safety
5
Skills to Jobs with Livable Wage
6
Mentor
7
Health Care
Intensive Follow-up via Transformative Relationship-Building * All data sourced from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Annual Social and Economic Supplement of Current Population Survey (2017).
Let’s change this narrative of St. Louis, together. “This project is called HomeGrown STL because it is centered on the understanding that solutions to the problems facing young Black boys and men today in St. Louis must come from the region itself—with good use of data and strategic action.” — DR. SEAN JOE, FOUNDER OF HOMEGROWN STL ABOUT DR. SEAN JOE
Sean Joe, PhD, is the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development and associate dean for faculty and research at the Brown School at Washington University St. Louis. He is a nationally recognized authority on suicidal behavior among Black Americans. His current research focuses on Black male social mobility, community organizing intervention research, and father-focused, family-based interventions.
HomeGrown STL is a project of the Race and Opportunity Lab, which is housed within the Center for Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Learn more about our work and attend our upcoming events. HomeGrown STL at WashU is proud to be a member of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, answering the call of the Obama Foundation to close opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color in our cities.
raceandopportunitylab.wustl.edu/ homegrown-stl raceandopportunitylab@wustl.edu