In a society that often paints a hopeless future for Black youth, one local church initiative creates a more positive and powerful outcome.
Project HOPE Houston, established by Dr. D.Z. Cofield, pastor of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, works to provide a supportive and nurturing environment for at-risk youth, empowering them to overcome challenges and achieve their full potential.
“We understand that every young person faces unique struggles, and our mission is to offer comprehensive support, guidance, and opportunities for growth and development,” said Cofield about the program that has made a huge impact in just three short years, re-directing at-risk youth away from the juvenile justice system and to help equip them with the skills they need to be productive community members, all while supporting their parents, as well.
The Defender Network spoke with the program’s director, Reverend Cameron Jenkins, about what makes Project HOPE Houston such a positive and powerful game-changer.
Defender: What specifically is Project? Project Hope?
Jenkins: Project Hope is a Third Ward youth diversion program that specializes in intervention and prevention for at-risk youth. We believe they’re all at risk if we don’t prevent them from making certain mistakes or making certain missteps. But if they’re already in the system, in that school-to-prison pipeline, they’re already at risk. So, whether they’ve interfaced with the law or not, they’re at risk. So, grassroots institutions like Project HOPE help to do what Frederick Douglass says, that “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” That’s what we do. We want to just build strong children so we don’t have to repair broken men.
Defender: To accomplish that, what are some of the things Project HOPE does?
Jenkins: We meet every week for 26 weeks, Tuesdays through Thursdays, and we have a Project HOPE curriculum. It spells the word “diversion.” Each module has its own focus. So, the last three weeks we were in module “D” which would be “Decisions.” Recently, we continued with module “I” for “Identity.” Other values we focus on include “Education,” “Service,” “Income,” “Opportunity” and even “Nutrition.” Most of the modules are three weeks where we really massage in decision making, critical thinking skills, knowing who you are apart from your social group, things of that nature.
We also have community service opportunities where on Saturdays students are in our food pantry; they’re serving. Sunday morning, they’re always invited to service. We also do field experiences where they get a chance to learn about and explore more about their culture, more about our culture, our city. We realize a lot of them live in Third Ward and have never been to a Rockets game or a museum or know the significance Third Ward has in history.
Defender: How are participants equipped when they leave the program?
Jenkins: Each student has to have a skillset when they leave us, whether that’s t-shirt making, t-shirt design, podcasting or music. We have a music production station where they can produce their music and get in the booth and try their vocals out. We try to make sure that any area that they’re interested in, we provide a space for it, whether it’s learning how to edit videos, we’ve got cameras and desktops whereby they can do those things. It’s a curriculum-based service. It’s skill building, character building. And more importantly, it’s relational.
Defender: Why is that relational component so important?
Jenkins: Statistics show us that women, mothers only spend now about 11 minutes of quality time with children and fathers only spend about eight minutes of quality time with children. So, giving them that safe space where they are the main focus, they are on the main stage, is critical. Because if we’re dealing with intervention, that’s probably, and nine times out of 10, the reason why they’re dealing with the court system anyway is because they’re crying out for some type of attention, some type of love. There’s a lapse of love. So, we counseling. That’s the big piece. They have “Sofa Time” where they get a chance to get on that sofa and whatever is in them, they get a chance to pour out without judgment. And students need that so that they can grow and blossom into what we believe they have the potential to.
YOUTH PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIES
One of the growths or changes I think I’ve had is a higher level of maturity. When I first came here I would like to goof off and play around. I feel like the program helped me mature and more or less help me to be a leader and not a follower.
Before Project HOPE I was doing things I wasn’t supposed to be doing. After I came here I started doing things to become a better person.
It’s not worth it, thinking about having to go to court, how your mama is going to feel if you get arrested, coming to pick you up from the police station.
Learn more about Project HOPE Houston at https://projecthopehouston.org/.
