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Youth Guidance Chicago

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Youth Guidance Chicago

Youth Guidance: Guiding Kids to Bright Futures More than 95% of youth served are African American and Hispanic/Latin.

Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs, like BAM® and WOW that enable children & older youth to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to succeed in school and in life. Success is realized as students stay on track to graduate elementary and high school, develop the skills and abilities needed to make positive choices in their lives, and develop resilien

ce assets such as self-efficacy, anger management, and positive values so that they may live successful, self-sufficient lives as adults, reaching their potential. Our strategically, trauma-informed developed delivery areas are: Counseling & Prevention (BAM, WOW, STRIVE) Community & After School (Parent/Family Engagement, Full-Service Community Schools Community Learning Centers and Extended Day & Enrichment Programs), Youth Workforce Development (Project Prepare, , Project Prepare Blue). We directly serve more than 13,000 youth while strengthening families and touching the lives of parents, teachers and communities. Youth Guidance is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA).

06/09/2026

"BAM gave us permission to pour our hearts out and hold each other up. I started showing empathy toward others—and toward myself. That was new." - Daniel, BAM Alum & Counselor

For Daniel, Becoming A Man (BAM) was the first place he felt safe enough to open up to talk about pain, build brotherhood, and learn that vulnerability could be met with care instead of judgement.

This Men's Mental Health Month, we're honoring Daniel's story and the space that made his healing possible.

Read Daniel's full story: https://www.youth-guidance.org/becoming-us-bam-made-me-believe-i-could-be-something/

06/08/2026

🚴🏾‍♂️ Think outside the block.

Youth Guidance is proud to support the 13th Annual Ride N Peace as a Safe Ambassador, joining community organizations, residents, and partners committed to creating safer, stronger neighborhoods for young people and families.

Ride N Peace is more than a bike ride—it's a powerful demonstration of what is possible when communities come together to promote peace, connection, and opportunity. Through collective action and positive engagement, this event helps shine a light on the people and organizations working every day to build a brighter future across Chicago.

📅 Friday, June 12
📍 Ogden Park, 6500 S. Racine Ave.
🕓 Meet Up: 4:00 p.m. | Roll Off: 8:00 p.m.

We invite our community to come out, ride, and stand together for peace.

06/04/2026

Happy Pride Month 🌈

At Youth Guidance, we believe every young person deserves to feel seen, valued, and supported for who they are.

Through our programs and partnerships with schools, we help create spaces where young people can build confidence, strengthen relationships, develop a sense of belonging, and show up as their authentic selves.

This Pride Month, we celebrate the diversity of the young people, families, and communities we serve. We also reaffirm our commitment to creating environments where all youth feel safe, supported, and empowered to thrive.

06/03/2026

This Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month and Gun Violence Awareness Month, we’re lifting up a truth we see every day:

Violence prevention is mental health work.

In Youth Guidance’s Becoming a Man (BAM) program, young men are given something too many have gone without: a safe space to be honest about what they’re carrying, process difficult experiences, and build the skills to navigate life’s challenges in healthy ways.

Healing starts with being heard.

That’s why BAM creates space for young men to speak openly, support one another, and learn that strength isn’t about staying silent—it’s about knowing when to ask for help.

We don’t expect perfection.
We create opportunities for growth.
And we remind young men every day that it’s okay to not be okay.

Every young person deserves a trusted adult, a supportive community, and the chance to heal before hurt turns into harm.

05/29/2026

What can horses teach teenagers from Chicago? Quite a lot, it turns out.

On a rainy April day, 16 students from Youth Guidance’s BAM and WOW programs at Noble Baker College Prep traveled to Rodeo for Lives in Crete, Illinois, where they met real-life cowboys and cowgirls, practiced roping, groomed horses, and discovered lessons in discipline, resilience, and care.

For many, it was their first time this close to a horse. For all of them, it was a day they won’t soon forget.

Our newest story, What the Horses Taught Them, explores how one field trip became something deeper: a lesson in slowing down, paying attention, and connecting to history, legacy, and themselves.

Thank you to Rodeo for Lives, the Hughes and Latting families, the Michigan State University Rodeo Club, the Vivo Foundation, and Youth Guidance counselors Andrei Heward-Mills and Desiree Sheppard for making this experience possible.

Read the story: https://www.youth-guidance.org/what-the-horses-taught-them/

05/28/2026

Thank you to Senator Elgie Sims Jr. Sims for your continued support of Youth Guidance and your steadfast leadership for young people across Illinois.

From stepping inside a BAM Circle to engaging directly with our staff and alums during Advocacy Day, Senator Sims consistently shows up with a genuine commitment to listening, learning, and advocating for the needs of young people and communities.

We are grateful for leaders who understand that investing in youth mental health, mentorship, and supportive relationships helps create stronger futures for students, families, and communities across Illinois.

05/26/2026

Flashback to Advocacy Day in Springfield 📸

Earlier this month, Youth Guidance staff and alumni traveled to the Illinois State Capitol to advocate for something we know changes lives: investing in young people.

We’re looking back with gratitude for the elected officials who took time to meet with our team and hear directly from young people about the importance of mentoring, youth mental health support, afterschool programming, and violence prevention.

These conversations matter. Every day, we see the impact that caring adults, safe spaces, and consistent support can have on a young person’s future. Continued investment in these programs helps students build confidence, strengthen relationships, and stay connected to school and community.

We are grateful to: Senator Elgie Sims Jr., Senator Omar Aquino, Senator Celina Villanueva, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Representative Michael Crawford, IDHS Secretary Dulce Maria Quintero, Senator Mary Edly-Allen, and Senator Graciela Guzmán.

Thank you for helping advocate for brighter futures for Illinois youth.

05/11/2026

72 hours from now, there will be speeches, applause, powerful stories, probably a few tears…and at least one person pretending they’re not checking whether they won the silent auction. 👀

The Bright Futures Gala is almost here. ✨

This morning on Daytime Chicago on WGN TV, Shykira Richards and WOW alumna Kailee Roman shared what this work is really about: helping young people find confidence, community, and support during some of life’s most challenging moments.

As Youth Guidance celebrates 25 years of Becoming A Man (BAM) and 15 years of Working on Womanhood (WOW), Shykira spoke about the continuum of care our programs provide—from school-based mentoring and counseling to afterschool programming and parent and family engagement that supports students beyond the classroom.

Kailee, now a sophomore at DePaul University and a speaker at Thursday’s gala, shared how WOW helped her find her voice and confidence while navigating social anxiety and insecurity during high school.

Moments like these remind us that when young people have safe spaces, trusted adults, and people who believe in them, lives change.

🎥 Watch the segment: https://wgntv.com/video/youth-guidance-helping-chicago-students-navigate-obstacles-through-mentorship-counseling/11780518

05/04/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Since its founding by Mental Health America in 1949, this observance has been a national call to recognize the importance of mental well-being, reduce stigma, and ensure people have access to the support they need.

This year’s theme — “More Good Days, Together” — invites a simple but powerful question: What does a “good day” look like?

For the young people and communities we serve at Youth Guidance, a good day might mean:

• Feeling safe enough to show up as your full self
• Having a trusted adult who listens without judgment
• Finding your voice—and knowing it matters
• Learning how to navigate challenges without being defined by them

But “more good days” don’t happen by chance. They happen when we intentionally build environments where people feel seen, supported, and connected—in schools, in communities, and in everyday interactions.

Across all of our programs, that’s the work: Creating space for healing. Strengthening relationships. Equipping young people with the tools to manage emotions, make decisions, and build a future they can believe in.

Because mental health isn’t just about responding in moments of crisis. It’s about what we build every day to prevent those crises from happening.

This month, we invite you to reflect:

👉 What does a “good day” look like for you?
👉 And how can we help create more of those days for everyone?

More good days. Together.

04/29/2026

We’re two weeks away from the 2026 Bright Futures Gala on May 14—and the momentum is building!

We’re proud to recognize GCM Grosvenor as a Premier Sponsor.⁠

GCM Grosvenor demonstrates a deep commitment to strengthening communities—investing not just capital, but time, talent, and resources to expand opportunity for young people and families. From supporting education and workforce readiness to engaging in volunteerism and nonprofit leadership, their approach reflects a belief that when communities thrive, we all do.⁠ ⁠

That commitment aligns powerfully with Youth Guidance’s mission to ensure young people have the support they need to overcome obstacles and succeed in school and life.⁠ ⁠

We’re grateful for GCM Grosvenor’s support and for their leadership in helping create brighter futures for the next generation.⁠ ⁠

Address

1 N La Salle Street
Chicago, IL
60602

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13122534900

Website

http://www.youth-guidance.org/

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