At The Good Life Philanthropic Youth Foundation, we simply ask youth to ‘GET REAL!” R.E.A.L. stands for Ready To Enter and Accept Life. We meet youth where they are at and take them on a journey of social, emotional and personal development, while connecting them to the necessary resources for success, accountability, sustainability and growth. Good Life utilizes youth culture as a bridge to opportunity, understanding and real transferrable skills, in a culturally competent way. The Get R.E.A.L. Program is a comprehensive 1 year program for high risk youth to guide them toward success by focusing on 3 key areas: Life Skills (R.E.A.L. Life), Asset Building & Financial Education (R.E.A.L. Wealth), and Entrepreneurship (R.E.A.L. Success) training and Health and Wellness (R.E.A.L. Health).
While each of these components are individual programs, youth who are in the “Get R.E.A.L.!” program will interact with all of these components with the help of an individual Life Coach, while developing a blueprint for their journey toward success called an Achieve My Plan (AMP), which is a map for strategic coaching consisting of key milestones in the areas of personal development, educational improvement, community reinvestment, and workforce development. This is achieved through individual coaching, group mentoring, experiential learning activities and cultural development projects and activities.
The Good Life is driven by the belief that “A Good Life begins with REAL Connections.” We are the glue that forms meaningful connections, opportunities and access for those who don’t have them.
The first and most real connection needed for youth to succeed starts with the Life Coach. Life Coaches are paired with a child on an individual basis. We do not just simply point out a direction to the youth; we take the journey with them. We are not afraid to meet them at the current stage in their lives, both socially and physically. With common and shared life experiences, a Good Life Coach is able to reach the youth in a way that others cannot. The youth we serve often experience a myriad of difficulties, including emotional underdevelopment, a stalled level of cultural competence, and often times an inability to trust. Good Life Coaches put the youth first and provide positive motivational examples to help them achieve the very basic milestones necessary to contribute to society; such as graduating high school, getting a drivers license, or even opening a bank account. This strategic coaching is designed to give youth transferrable skills to become self-sufficient and positive contributors to the local community.
Target Goals & Impact
- Reducing recidivism
- Reducing violence
- Prevention of Re-Offense
- Improved Academic Performance
- Successful completion of probation and diversion programs
