LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville mentoring program is changing the lives of thousands of at-risk male students attending Jefferson County Public Schools.
The annual "Men of Quality" forum, which connects positive role models with at-risk youth, started after the 1995 Million Man March in Washington and a call to action.
The 2022 forum started Monday morning. Several hundred boys from elementary schools across Louisville spent the day at the University of Louisville Student Activity Center. One of several speakers they heard from was 23-year-old Elliott Kelly Jr.
Just a few years ago, Kelly was one of the students attending the annual Men of Quality Lifestyle Choices Forum.
Elliott Kelly Jr.
"I started coming my sophomore year of high school," he said. "I just remember all the positive messages, talking about, 'You can be anything you want to be, not just being an athlete. Even if you're not necessarily the most talented academically, there are so many different gifts. There are so many different ways to be great.'"
Kelly said those positive messages coming from the men of Omega Psi Phi are the reason he graduated from Louisville Central High School, has a college degree and a promising career.
"What they did was give us the tools and blueprint to find our own path," Kelly said.
Michael Shoulders, a high school counselor and founding member of the Men of Quality Forum, shared moments Monday of the early days of the program.
"I remember that call to action," Shoulders said. "When I heard that message of saying, 'Go back to your community, and do something to make a difference,' I knew that Men of Quality program was exactly what we needed."
Since then, they have served as mentors for thousands of male students and addressed everything from financial literacy to mental health.
Michael Shoulders
"People don't like to identify if they have mental health issues, but we want to talk to these young men about those things," Shoulders said. "So it's a wide range of things."
Although they can't save everyone, this year's keynote speaker is a reminder that the program is making a difference.
"I do know a lot of people have succumbed to that violence, who have gotten arrested, locked up, killed," Kelly said. "The story is being written about our lives every single day. But one thing we don't realize is that we have the pen, and this program helps young men realize that we have the pen, and we write a story for our lives every single day."
Day two of the Men of Quality Forum is Tuesday and will include middle and high school students.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
