GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An effort among non-profit organizations in West Michigan is aiming to close the gap on education, wellness and financial achievement for boys and young men of color.
That effort is being called We Matter Now and Friday, the inaugural conference was held at the Eberhard Center at GVSU's Grand Rapids campus.
Cole Williams, Dondrea Brown and Henry Sapp run the Delta Project, Young Money Finances and Better Wiser Stronger Inc., respectively. Though they run organizations with separate visions, they've joined together to create the initiative.
The conference today focused around the theme "Our Vision. Our Voice. Our Choice." It taught young men financial education, healthy behaviors and conflict resolution training, equipping attendees with the support to be impactful members of the community.
The leaders of the initiative say the organization is about building young men and giving them space to have a voice.
"The truth of the matter is we've got so many young men who have been labeled at risk," says Cole Williams of The Delta Project. "But the truth of the matter is, if we shift that narrative, and we start to focus in on what that potential looks like, we'll start to recognize that our young men are full of potential, we just have to shift the stories that we tell them and the stories that they tell about themselves."
Along with Friday's conference, We Matter Now will also host summer programming for 60 at-potential boys from ninth to 11th grade.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.