This program is an important one… I think back to a couple of the guys in my home group saying how much having a Black male like me, how important seeing me was for them, and me being there every day that we were there, and being attentive, and being there for them, showing that I care about them, how far it went for them… What we ended up teaching them I feel was really embedded into them. I feel like it will go a long way for them. The THREADS program is so important, because I can count on one hand the amount of Black male teachers or just college-age students who understood me, you know, when I was their age. So I feel like it’s something that needs to go on.

– Sameuldo Mompoint

THREADS is important for two reasons. One, obviously, it gives the children the chance to be around more positive role models, see people that possibly look like themselves who have made it out of neighborhoods perhaps similar to theirs, which is very important. It’s important to recognize that, you know, other people have done it, because then it becomes easier for you to say, “I can do it too.” Conversely, it’s also important for mentors, especially if a mentor does not come from an urban community. Children from an urban community are demonized. They’re blamed for all kinds of things when they’re just kids, you know?… Once you give these kids love, once you show them that you’re there and you value them, they give it back. And that’s a powerful thing, you know? It helps to blow away these kind of weird stereotypes and views that we have that they’re wild, uncontrollable children. Nah, they’re just kids. So I think it’s important, because it helps the mentors see the children from urban environments as actual children. And it helps the children see the mentors as possibilities for themselves.

– Octavio Cano