A public health intervention for a small urban community: Lessons learned from the first year of the Journey Mentoring Program for inner-city youth

The Journey Mentoring Program (TJMP) at the YMCA was initiated in October 2007 for inner-city youth in Albany, New York. The goal of TJMP is to improve public health and individual health outcomes, including violence and sexually transmitted diseases, by providing teens with positive role models and promoting positive socialization. TJMP recruits male and females aged 13 to 18 from the Saturday Teen Night Program (STNP), another program at the YMCA. STNP, which was developed in 2000 in response to a growing gang problem, offers teens a safe place to spend their Saturday nights. Over 1,000 teens participate in STNP each year.

TJMP is innovative in three ways. First, a team approach is used. Each team has three mentors: one adult from the community, one college student, and one alumnus from STNP. Each mentor provides different types of support to the participants. Second, each team of mentors and teens plans and participates in activities defined by the team. Activities relate to a variety of topics, including academics, college preparation, career aspirations, culture, community and personal health, skills building, and socializing. Each team is also required to plan, organize, and carry out a collaboratively identified community service project that will enhance appreciation of community assets and increase participants' connectedness to their community. Third, both teens and mentors receive monetary incentives for their participation in order to increase commitment to TJMP.

Goal attainment and lessons learned from year one of the program will be presented; recommendations for future directions will be suggested.