What is The Men of Iron Mentoring Program?

In 2006, homicides in the city of Oakland reached the unconscionable rate of 148 deaths, with thirty percent of the victims being African American youths under the age of 19. After years of working in the field of law enforcement and talking with many of the young offenders who came through the jails, we realized many of those young men posessed great potential; however, they lacked the requisite discipline, structure and guidance needed to lead productive lives. The vast majority of them shared there was no father in the home or positive male figures in their lives to guide them in the right direction.

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That sobering reality compelled six deputy sheriffs to band together to break the link in the school to prison pipeline and save the lives of young African American boys. On January 13, 2007 the Men of Iron Mentoring and Leadership Program was formed with the mission in mind to mentor young boys ages 6 to 12 and give them a solid foundation of discipline, structure and guidance on which to build their lives.