Company Profile

Company Overview

Building on a proud history of serving Chicago youth for more than 95 years, Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs and capacity-building initiatives, directly serving more than 11,000 youth.

In 2001, the Becoming a Man (BAM) program was launched at Youth Guidance to help young men navigate difficult circumstances that threaten their future. The BAM program is a school-based group counseling program that guides young men in 7-12th grades to learn, internalize and practice social cognitive skills, make responsible decisions for their future, and become positive members of their school and community. BAM integrates clinical theory and practice, men’s rites of passage work, and a dynamic approach to youth engagement.

Each session is built around a lesson plan designed to develop a specific skill through stories, role-playing and group exercises. BAM students learn and practice impulse control, emotional self-regulation, recognition of social cues and interpreting intentions of others, raising aspirations for the future and developing a sense of personal responsibility and integrity. BAM has gained national attention, serving as a model for President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative to support young men and boys of color. Research by the University of Chicago Crime Lab found that the program reduced violent crime arrests, weapons crime, and improved graduation rates.

Youth Guidance sees a bright and successful future for every inner-city elementary and high school student in Chicago and is excited about bringing this vision to Los Angeles. Because we believe that success in school is not only possible but should be achieved and celebrated, we are present in the schools to facilitate an environment that truly engages students in the learning process, and through careful guidance, enables them to realize their full potential and graduate with a meaningful plan for successfully managing life. Learn more at: https://www.youth-guidance.org/bam/