For our mentors, ULS is not simply a job or a hobby, it is part of the fabric of their identity and lives. ULS mentors are not simply service providers or project managers, but are neighbors and community members with our youth and their families. Thus, our commitment extends beyond any probation contract or single mentoring relationship. When a shooting happens in the neighborhood, the mentors know about it not because a youth calls to tell them, but because it occurs in their own backyard. The ULS model only works when the mentors have a vested interest in the community. This often means that mentors live in the neighborhood, but it may mean they attend church there, grew up there, or have made a commitment to be part of the community. They know the ‘pulse’ of the neighborhood. We believe that being community-based in the single biggest reason ULS has been successful.

Urban Life Skills uses three approaches to mentoring youth throughout their time in the program: one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, and team mentoring. These approaches to mentoring have been the most effective in decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors for our youth, and extend beyond the reach of a typical mentoring program.

With ULS Jr Leaders and ULS Juvenile Justice we can address the community needs at the level of both prevention and intervention.

The mentors are the change agents within Urban Life Skills. ULS would not exist if it were not for the solid team of full-time staff and volunteer mentors who have given countless hours of their time to this program. We have a very diverse mentor team with a variety of backgrounds who provide and extensive pool of resources when it comes to guiding and training youth. No amount of networking or programming can replicate the power of a highly-committed, passionate mentor to transform a young person’s life.

A Restorative Justice Hub brings together various members of a community and systems that work with youth (e.g., parents, school, probation, judges) to create connections that otherwise would not exist. The ULS program tries to be the connecting hub for all of these services to operate on behalf of the youth.