At Risk Youth Mentoring
Foundations Program
The LASOS Foundations Program is a comprehensive, three-tiered, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) serving youth ages 4–18 (and up to 21 in mentoring cohorts) who are at risk academically, economically, or socially, integrating tutoring, mentoring, behavioral health education, financial literacy, and intensive wraparound family support. Tier I provides weekly one-on-one tutoring and mentoring for nearly 1,000 students Pre-K through 12, along with a month-long summer enrichment program serving 300+ students from 45 Harford County schools, reinforcing academics, leadership, English learner support in partnership with HCPS, and access to community resources and transportation. Tier II includes targeted interventions through the Embrace Program (in-school Student Checkups using Motivational Interviewing), and gender-specific mentoring through Butterfly (girls 14–21) and Phoenix (boys 14–21), addressing attendance, engagement, leadership, mental health, cultural identity navigation, and positive role modeling; outcomes include increased family communication, reduced risk behaviors, improved school involvement, and high participant satisfaction. Tier III, the Resilience Program, delivers intensive 10–14 week family strengthening interventions for families facing poverty, trauma, mental health challenges, or instability, using evidence-based models such as the Strengthening Families Program, MATCH-ADTC, Safety Planning Intervention (Stanley & Brown), Therapeutic Mentoring, and cognitive behavioral approaches to build protective factors, improve parenting skills, reduce substance use and behavioral risks, strengthen parent-child bonds, and move families from crisis toward long-term stability and self-sufficiency. Across all tiers, LASOS emphasizes positive childhood experiences, culturally and linguistically responsive care, school collaboration, crisis intervention, and coordinated wraparound services to ensure youth and families thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and economically.
Summer Program
Our summer program is an extension of the youth mentoring program. The camp focuses on the student’s role in the community while reinforcing academics in reading, math, and civics. The camp runs daily, Monday through Friday, for the month of July.
Phoenix Program
The Phoenix Program is a mentoring program for middle and high school boys that empowers young men through social and physical activities.
The Butterfly group is designed for girls ages 9 to 21. The program is designed to build a community of support for the girls as they learn to bridge between their home culture and that of the USA, emphasizing acculturation over assimilation. Girls are paired with adult female mentors to guide, motivate, and encourage them as they become successful and productive citizens.
The focus of the group is character and leadership, wellness and health, financial literacy, academic success, healthy relationships, and life planning.
Program Goals:
- Increase girls’ sense of self-worth
- Improve their perspective on education
- Help girls develop and define their short-term and long-term goals
- Encourage social awareness
- Build positive relationships and support networks with adults and peers
The Embrace Program
The Embrace Program is a wrap-around service with the goal of strengthening family life, school life, and the personal life of any student enrolled in school. It focuses on the child and family unit working together in multiple sessions throughout the school year to address prevention, intervention, and diversion programs for at-risk youth. The basic criteria include low academic level, high absentee rate (8+ absences), low student engagement, class disruption, and issues at home or in the community.
The Uplift Program
College mentoring program for high school Seniors aspiring to be 1st generation immigrant college students in the United States, including 1:1 mentoring for goal setting, application and scholarship support, and no cost trips to local universities.