Advancing the Social and Economic Mobility of Black Male Youth and Young Men

Washington University in St. Louis will partner with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, the Greater St. Louis Foundation, and the Fathers and Family Support Center to support the employment and economic mobility of Black male youth ages 14–25. The research-practice partnership emerged from HomeGrown StL, a consortium of 120 municipal and community organizations organized by co-investigator Sean Joe from Washington University in St. Louis as a response to the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. They will examine whether HomeGrown StL’s intervention program providing Life Coaches—Black men from the local community—to mentor younger Black males improves a range of well-being and college- and career-preparedness outcomes compared to youth who receive a standard care condition of access to available community-based resources and supports. The grant will build the capacity of leading nonprofit Black-male-serving organizations in St. Louis to develop content knowledge and use research evidence to improve their services. The grant will also catalyze the university’s recent commitment to expanding support for engaged research as part of a new strategic plan. On campus, it will serve as a model for how faculty can collaborate with community partners to develop rigorous research to effect local change and will help fuel infrastructure changes necessary to sustain the university’s commitment to engaged research for the long term.