Boys Hope Girls Hope

Illinois - the program is a residential scholarship program which operates 3 homes. Services provided within a family like setting, include housing, food, school tuition, tutoring, adult live-in supervision and clothing. This year, services were provided for 24 scholars in residence and 35 scholars away at college. Success is measured by having all residence scholars complete service hours and maintain an above average grade point.

North east ohio - the program is a residential scholarship program which operates 2 homes. Services provided within a family like setting, include housing, food, school tuition, tutoring, adult live-in supervision and clothing. This year, services were provided for 7 scholars in residence and 56 scholars away at college. Success is measured by having all residence scholars complete service hours and maintain an above average grade point. In addition, 107 scholars were served through the academy program, an intensive 9-year program of academic preparation and character building (beginning in 8th grade) through high school and ending at college graduation.

The three largest affiliate programs are arizona (phoenix area), northeastern ohio (cleveland area), and illinois (chicago area). There are two program pathways for middle and high school youth, residential and academy. Both programs feed into the postsecondary program, with these highlights: residential: 24/7 care with food, shelter and clothing in family-like homes, school placement, academic and whole-person development programming, postsecondary preparation, extra-curricular participation and community engagement. Academy: out of school time programming in evenings and on weekends that includes academic support, postsecondary preparation, whole-person development programming, and community engagement. Postsecondary: persistence advising, career preparation and networking, transition to career support, alumni association membership. As of march 1, 2021, the largest programs served these numbers of young people: arizona: 14 residential, 35 academy, 35 postsecondary northeastern ohio: 7 residential, 107 academy, 56 postsecondary illinois: 24 residential, 35 postsecondaryover the past year, they and other affiliates have engaged with us in adapting our standard residential and academy model, with support through college, to the particular challenges presented by covid-19. In consultation with a task force comprised of experts in law, medicine, risk management, and insurance guidelines and templates for safely operating during the pandemic have been developed. Each affiliate adapted these to their site, with board of director approval. Most residential youth initially returned to their families to shelter in place. Our program teams provided aggressive case management that included addressing basic needs of food, supplies, and clothing, monitoring for safety and emotional support, and assistance with the transition to virtual school. They also delivered virtual programming for academic support/tutoring and recreation/social engagement. This included cooking classes, joint gaming, trivia, sharing music. The majority of residential scholars are now in our residential homes again.similarly, it has been vital to stay in contact with college students as they navigated the closing of their institutions. We assisted with transportation, transitional housing, and advising regarding financial, emotional, and academic matters. Through the virtual bhgh collegian caf, collegians connected with one another and leaders in mental health/wellness, career planning and transition, and internship opportunities. Those graduating high school from across the country are gathered to culminate their program participation and prepare for the transition to postsecondary. This event, called collegiate prep, was conducted virtually last year because of covid-19.persistence in programming, one important outcome for residential and academy programs, has maintained steady through the challenges. Progress toward degree completion is an important indicator for postsecondary students. This past semester we saw an increase in the average collegian grade point average.in addition to the focus on managing safely during covid-19, the national and international awakening to racism over the last year has allowed boys hope girls hope to make important progress in our own internal dialogue and work around diversity, equity and inclusion. New initiatives are focused on recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse team across the network, increasing the diversity of our boards of directors and finding new to coach scholars and collegians on navigating racism and helping to build more equitable communities. Given that we serve over 90% young people of color, this work is especially critical.