Mayor Michelle Wu recently announced in February that $500,000 in city funding will go toward programs serving Black men and boys across the city, including St. Stephen’s Youth Programs (SSYP), a long-running youth development nonprofit in the South End.
The investment is in partnership with the Office of Black Male Advancement, whose mission is to empower Black men and boys and ensure they have equitable access to opportunities across the city, according to the office’s website.
Founded in 1999, SSYP offers year-round programming for youth of all genders across Boston. The organization provides academic support, career exploration opportunities and leadership development through after-school programs, summer employment and mentorship initiatives, according to the organization’s website.
While working with students, Latasha Scott, SSYP’s assistant director of development, said she noticed a gap in the programming available for boys compared to girls. Socioemotional opportunities for the boys were often limited, she said.
Boys often gravitated toward sports activities, which did not always create space for conversations about mental health or the “disparities that they’re facing, whether it’s in the community or at home,”Scott said
“That led to a lot of frustration,” Scott said. “They’re mad about a game, or they can’t really express why they don’t want this person on the team, or something to that effect.”
The grant will support one year of the Youth Leadership Corps, a program focused on academic support, social-emotional development and leadership skills for middle school students. While the program is open to all eligible participants, the majority of students involved are boys, Scott said.
Government grants make up roughly 35 percent of the organization’s funding, according to a SSYP 2023-2024 Impact Report.
SSYP first applied for the grant in 2024, but was not selected. This year, they applied again for $20,000, and were awarded $15,000, Scott said.
Lauren Young, the grants manager at SSYP, said grants are becoming increasingly competitive while the need for nonprofits like SSYP continues to grow.
“In this current state of the political climate and the economic climate, it’s just hard,” Young said. “It’s hard for our youth and their parents, and also for our organization, just to stay afloat.”
Half of the students enrolled in Boston Public Schools are considered “economically disadvantaged,” according to the BPS website.
National economic pressures and policy decisions often “trickle down” to the students, forcing the nonprofit to adjust how it uses its resources, Young said.
“In November, when the government shut down, parents couldn’t put food on the table,” Young said. “And so then we have kids coming in extra hungry, and it’s like, how do we supplement?”
Although its primary goal is to provide academic and emotional support, SSYP is much more than just an afterschool program to the students and families it serves, said D’Andra Evans, the organization’s college and career counselor.
Evans first joined SSYP when she was 15 years old, and has spent the last decade working in various roles, she said.
In her current position, Evans said the experience feels “full circle.” She recalled times when SSYP helped her family buy groceries and flew her to North Carolina to visit the university she would later attend.
“St. Stephen’s really does feel like a dysfunctional family in the best ways possible,” Evans said. “There’s always an adult who trusts in you, believes in you and you have a safe place here.”
This story is part of a partnership between The Independent Newspaper Group and Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.