Our Programs
Delta Project programming flips the narrative that too often begins with “at-risk” youth. Instead, we invest in “at-potential” youth who are dealing with the juvenile justice system, helping them develop a future orientation while constructing a narrative identity that can transcend current circumstances.
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Boys to Men-tors
Boys to Men-tors is a support group that helps boys ages 10-17, who have been or are at risk for being engaged with the juvenile justice system, learn skills to navigate their life circumstances and positively envision a future of their choosing.
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Young Fathers Initiative
Young Fathers Initiative is an evidence informed program that empowers young fathers, up to 24 years old, with the awareness and tools needed to make positive, future oriented choices.
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Healthy Connections
Healthy Connections is a holistic, asset based program that helps young adults who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and other trauma build social and emotional knowledge and skills.
Why we do what we do at the Delta Project
“Engaging in narrative change work demands that we all listen, and listening itself is an act of love.”
“By observing, listening and then empowering young people to tell their stories, we will have the best chance to promote positive change.”
“The students we work with are some of the most ambitious I have ever encountered. Our goal is to provide the mentorship and community support needed to channel all of that energy in a positive direction.”
The Delta PRoject Media Room
Check out our most recent podcast episodes, videos, and articles where we share real stories about lived experiences and updates about our advocacy work inside juvenile justice reform.
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Support our advocacy work
Giving kids an opportunity to see themselves in a positive way, a way that they never would have imagined, is what gives them hope for their future. A future we all share.
FAQS
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The Delta Project began in late 2017 with a desire to use simple human storytelling to help people see their circumstances from a different perspective. This vision led to the creation of the Delta Project team – a group of people committed to amplifying the stories of students caught in the cycle of incarceration. This team worked with the first cohort of students in the juvenile detention center to produce and film the first Delta Project Conversation episode in early 2019. Five episodes have been created to date.
Capitalizing on the success and energy from the first series of Delta Project Conversations, The Delta Project was formally incorporated as a non-profit in September of 2019 and received their 501c3 status in March of 2020. As a non-profit organization The Delta Project created an expanded vision and mission for their work and is currently offering three programs as well as the Delta Project Community Resilience Fund.
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The Delta Project took its name from The Delta Program, a residential treatment program in the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Delta Program embraces a therapeutic process to address the deeper trauma and mental health issues facing young men in juvenile detention. We are not affiliated with any other groups or organizations that might share our name. Our name is associated with the recognition that deeper systems change is needed to properly support boys and young men of color involved with the juvenile justice system, and the prospect of incarceration.
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The Delta Project sees itself as a resource broker serving “at-potential” boys and young men of color, flipping the narrative that too often begins with “at-risk” youth.
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An organization or individual that coordinates services specifically designed to support another individual in need and help them learn, heal, and/or thrive.
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