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Published: Sunday, December 17, 2006

Man launches program to mentor inner-city youths

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The goal is to have at least one church on each side of the city offer the program.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Brian Keith West said he's always had a desire to help others.

And when he joined the Young Men's Fellowship program at New Bethel Baptist Church on Hillman Street as an adult mentor, he saw the opportunity to finally put into practice a mentoring program of his own that he'd been thinking about for years.

"It Starts Here," launched at New Bethel with the church's blessing last May, is a way to reach out to young people while providing them with activities designed to keep them off the streets, said West, 24, of Midlothian Boulevard.

The program meets at 6 p.m. Mondays at the church.

The focus now is on young men and boys, but West said he plans to expand that to include young women as well.

There is already some interaction between the Young Men's and Young Women's fellowships at the church, he said.

Good response

"We are very pleased,'" said the Rev. Robin Woodberry, youth pastor at New Bethel.

It Starts Here is really progressing, she said, adding, "I can see it really impacting our young men."

She said the church agreed to help sponsor the program "because the need was there."

A lot of the city's inner-city boys don't have a father figure in their homes and they need that type of mentorship, the Rev. Mrs. Woodberry said.

The program is open not only to young people attending New Bethel, but to anyone interested in participating, she said.

West, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Girard, is also a self-published author, having written "The Method Eight II: The Messenger," in which he puts forth his theories about the power of the mind and how it affects reality and time and is the key to the universe.

He's working on a "Method Eight" series now.

Uses his own money

West, a graduate of Chaney High School and a veteran of the Navy, has put his own money into getting his program off the ground, providing the funds to buy portable basketball hoops and paint part of the church parking lot to resemble a basketball court, among other things.

He's working on a plan to expand the program across the city.

"My goal is to have at least one church on the North Side, East Side, West Side and South Side have this program," he said.

He's also talking with the city about launching citywide basketball and flag football leagues.

The program drew as many as 40 young people to New Bethel during the summer, although attendance has dropped off a bit with the approach of winter.

It meets at 6 p.m. to give participants time to do their homework and complete other after-school activities, West said.

Sports isn't its only focus, however.

It gives kids somewhere to go for advice and guidance from caring adults, offers tutoring to those who need it and shows them avenues to the world outside their own streets, West said.

He also wants to incorporate service to others in the program and is looking for lawn mowers that participants can use to cut the grass of elderly city residents.

"My main goal is to keep them off the street, keep them active," West said.

"It's always been in my heart to help, especially with kids. That's where it starts. It starts here."

gwin@vindy.com

Sunday, December 17, 2006