All across America, young people are arrested, put in jail, are released, rearrested and then sent back to jail. This cycle is called recidivism.
Youth With A Purpose Inc (YWAP) is a ministry that believes all children are gifted and deserve to be valued. It hurts when a young person goes to jail or dies from violence. Poverty is a prison unto itself that helps feed the prison pipeline. When a young person goes to jail, we attempt to maintain contact, sometimes battling prison policies to do so. When a young person is released from jail, we try and help them in their reentry into society. Many times they go back to family, friends and the rest of their old way of life.
Science will tell us that the human brain does not fully mature until we are in our early twenties. The last part of our brains to fully mature is the frontal lobe and that's where decision making takes place. Sometimes we are holding young people accountable for understanding what they are not capable of understanding.
The frontal lobes, home to key components of the neural circuitry underlying “executive functions” such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, are among the last areas of the brain to mature; they may not be fully developed until halfway through the third decade of life. {1}
Recidivism reduction begins in elementary school. The longer we can keep kids in school and help them embrace the struggle for an education, the more likely they will be able to avoid "street-life." Gangs prey on struggling kids. School makes them feel inferior and inadequate. The gang grooms kids with money, praise and influence - making them feel empowered. Eventually the see no need for school and quit. Making money on the streets is easy - until you get killed or arrested.
YWAP (with God's guidance) developed a unique program that trained 16-30 yr. old young men as mentors who would go into schools and mentor the younger generation. Many of them had been victims of gang enticements and spent time in jail. Unfortunately, schools do not welcome guys with arrest records into their buildings. The good news is that some schools are sending guys to our BWAP - Brothers With A Purpose Program.
BWAP "Helps 16-30 yr. old young men become Christ-centered role models who mentor the next generation." We don't force religion on anybody and we accept everybody, but we use the Bible as a Game Plan for Life. We teach character using Bible verses about "doing to others as you would have them do to you."
We have found that most young people want to do what's right and just, but they lack the maturity to understand their own actions. Imagine a group of young people being lead by their own selfish ambitions without understanding the outcome of their actions. Recidivism is a lot like Romans 7:15,
"For I do not understand my own actions
[I am baffled and bewildered by them].
I do not practice what I want to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate
[and yielding to my human nature,
my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. (Amplified Bible)
BWAP is currently operating in Buffalo, NY and planning on three more locations there in 2017. We are also exploring and praying over opportunities in Arizona. If you have a passion to help young people pursue their potential in God's purpose for their lives, please contact us. We pray that the Holy Spirit ignites a heart-spark in your spirit.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
Jesus loves you and so do we.
YWAP Directors
Bob & Linda Kuebler
716-830-8240
[email protected]
"to be fair, just, merciful,
and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8 (NLT)
[1] Sowell ER, Thompson PM, Holmes CJ, et al. In vivo evidence for post-adolescent brain maturation in frontal and striatal regions. Nature Neurosci. 1999;2:859–61. [PubMed]
Youth With A Purpose Inc (YWAP) is a ministry that believes all children are gifted and deserve to be valued. It hurts when a young person goes to jail or dies from violence. Poverty is a prison unto itself that helps feed the prison pipeline. When a young person goes to jail, we attempt to maintain contact, sometimes battling prison policies to do so. When a young person is released from jail, we try and help them in their reentry into society. Many times they go back to family, friends and the rest of their old way of life.
Science will tell us that the human brain does not fully mature until we are in our early twenties. The last part of our brains to fully mature is the frontal lobe and that's where decision making takes place. Sometimes we are holding young people accountable for understanding what they are not capable of understanding.
The frontal lobes, home to key components of the neural circuitry underlying “executive functions” such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, are among the last areas of the brain to mature; they may not be fully developed until halfway through the third decade of life. {1}
Recidivism reduction begins in elementary school. The longer we can keep kids in school and help them embrace the struggle for an education, the more likely they will be able to avoid "street-life." Gangs prey on struggling kids. School makes them feel inferior and inadequate. The gang grooms kids with money, praise and influence - making them feel empowered. Eventually the see no need for school and quit. Making money on the streets is easy - until you get killed or arrested.
YWAP (with God's guidance) developed a unique program that trained 16-30 yr. old young men as mentors who would go into schools and mentor the younger generation. Many of them had been victims of gang enticements and spent time in jail. Unfortunately, schools do not welcome guys with arrest records into their buildings. The good news is that some schools are sending guys to our BWAP - Brothers With A Purpose Program.
BWAP "Helps 16-30 yr. old young men become Christ-centered role models who mentor the next generation." We don't force religion on anybody and we accept everybody, but we use the Bible as a Game Plan for Life. We teach character using Bible verses about "doing to others as you would have them do to you."
We have found that most young people want to do what's right and just, but they lack the maturity to understand their own actions. Imagine a group of young people being lead by their own selfish ambitions without understanding the outcome of their actions. Recidivism is a lot like Romans 7:15,
"For I do not understand my own actions
[I am baffled and bewildered by them].
I do not practice what I want to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate
[and yielding to my human nature,
my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. (Amplified Bible)
BWAP is currently operating in Buffalo, NY and planning on three more locations there in 2017. We are also exploring and praying over opportunities in Arizona. If you have a passion to help young people pursue their potential in God's purpose for their lives, please contact us. We pray that the Holy Spirit ignites a heart-spark in your spirit.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
Jesus loves you and so do we.
YWAP Directors
Bob & Linda Kuebler
716-830-8240
[email protected]
"to be fair, just, merciful,
and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8 (NLT)
[1] Sowell ER, Thompson PM, Holmes CJ, et al. In vivo evidence for post-adolescent brain maturation in frontal and striatal regions. Nature Neurosci. 1999;2:859–61. [PubMed]
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