New program to help at-risk young men

Leaders from Harvard University and Boston’s public, private, and nonprofit sectors will gather this evening (Thursday, March 1) at an awareness event for the Rediscovery House – a new program targeting at-risk young men. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law School professor, will be the distinguished speaker. Honorary host committee members will include Henry Louis Gates Jr. of the Du Bois Institute; Boston Police Commissioner Paul Evans; David Hall, provost of Northeastern University; Vanessa Kirsch, founder of New Profit Inc.; real estate investor Joseph O‚Connor; and Kip Tiernan, founder of Rosie’s Place.

Rediscovery House, which is projected to open by the end of this calendar year, will serve troubled young men returning from treatment facilities and transitioning into their communities. The program will provide eight to 12 young men with a means of starting safer, more productive lives by offering full-time life-skills training, education, therapy, job training, and coaching services.

The program’s founder and future program director, Arden O’Connor, is confident that the program will make a positive difference in the lives of youth. “During my years of volunteer work in the juvenile justice system, I observed the rehabilitation of many kids during their stay in treatment facilities,” O’Connor said. “Despite their clinical and educational progress, a large majority of kids fell apart once they returned to their communities, frequently due to lack of supervision and access to community resources.”

The awareness event will provide stakeholders of the Rediscovery House the opportunity to reach out and educate citizens in Boston and neighboring cities about these important issues. O’Connor, a recent graduate of Harvard College, has several years of experience working and volunteering in the justice system with at-risk youth. Other host committee members include Yitzhak Bakal, president of Northeastern Families Institute; James A. Fox, Lipman Family Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University; Molly Baldwin, founder of ROCA, Inc.; David Cortiella, executive director of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion; Leslie Crutchfield of Harvard Business School and the Social Enterprise Club; Boston Police Department Superintendent in Chief James Hussey; Jack Greene, dean of Northeastern University College of Criminal Justice; Ned Loughran, former commissioner of the Department of Youth Services; and Jack McDevitt, associate dean of graduate research and education at Northeastern University. The program’s advisory board includes individuals from various backgrounds: Maura Banta, community relations at IBM; Sam Williams, City Year; Leslie Crutchfield; Maria Dominguez, director of the Phillips Brooks House; Paul McDonald, Phillips Brooks House; Sariah Schlehr, Harvard Law School; and Jeb Booth, professor at Northeastern University.

For more information about the Rediscovery House or this evening’s event, contact Arden O’Connor at ardens2@hotmail.com.