ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Department of Children and Families has given the city of Orlando’s My Brother’s Keeper $750,000 to streamline a continuum of support for young men of color in the city.

What You Need To Know

  • My Brother's Keeper will soon expand to two high schools. MBK is currently only available at middle schools in Orlando

  • Through My Brother’s Keeper, young boys and men are referred by school administrators with a focus on those who are at greatest risk of suspension, expulsion, or low attendance

  • The high schools are Edgewater and Jones High School. The city is hiring two lead student advocates to run it

The goal is to continue to decrease juvenile justice involvement, behavior referrals and suspension and expulsions among young boys.

Through My Brother’s Keeper, young boys and men are referred by school administrators with a focus on those who are at greatest risk of suspension, expulsion, or low attendance.

The goal is to further fund My Brother’s Keeper Orlando to serve 25 boys and young men of color at two high schools each year for the next three years.

Officials say the most needed areas feed into those high schools.

“We wanted to make sure that those young men didn’t just stop at eighth grade and no longer had support services but that they can follow a continuum into the high schools as well,” said Bobby Belton, My Brother’s Keeper program manager.

The city of Orlando is expanding My Brother’s Keeper. Right now, it is only available for middle school students.

Spectrum News 13 was there when several young men walked into a classroom that turned into a barber shop.

It’s one of the many programs at My Brother’s Keeper, which gives students career exposure and a safe space to express themselves.  

“We can learn how to do new stuff,” said 11-year-old Kameron McKee, who goes to Memorial Middle School.

He’s learning a new skill, giving his mannequin an “edge up.” He started at My Brother’s Keeper in January.

Currently, there are five middle schools enrolled in My Brother’s Keeper. The city is expanding this student advocate program to two Orlando high schools to further a continuum on mentoring.

The high schools are Edgewater High School and Jones High School. The city is hiring two lead student advocates to run it. The hiring of two advocates is expected to start in August.

The city says My Brother’s Keeper has seen great success to date.

As of December 2023, program outcomes for students include a nearly 20% decrease in absences and a 20% decrease in school suspensions.

“You never mess up, it’s a discovery,” said barber Maurice Green, who is teaching his students about resilience. “Instead of just being out on the streets doing nothing, they have a future, they have a skill that they’re building.”

William Scott, 13, who was part of the barber class, goes to Memorial Middle School. He got referred to My Brother’s Keeper two years ago.  

“When I finally tested it out, I found out its really cool. We went on lots of trips. We went to a football game. We just went to Palm Beach,” said Scott. “It just keeps you out of trouble.”

He’s confident in his new-learned skills.

“When are you going to let me cut your hair?” he asked a My Brother’s Keeper staff member.

The My Brother’s Keeper program also includes financial literacy, mental health services, and entrepreneurial education; plus weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions on leadership, positive character traits and conflict resolution.

My Brother’s Keeper started in 2014 by former President Barack Obama to address disparity gaps among boys and young men of color.

Belton told Spectrum News 13, Orlando accepted the challenge Obama put out to start the work already being done at a greater scale.  

Belton said in 2020, at the height of George Floyd’s killing, the city received $1 million to expand programs full time.