Delaware mentoring program for Black men looks to go global

Morton acknowledges that not everyone who has joined the program has made it through.

“We lost some. We have some guys that started the program and didn’t finish the program, dropped out of the program and were killed,” he said. “I remember that day like it was yesterday because I literally stayed in bed for a week.

Khalil Weeks has been in the program since January.

“It gives me the tools that I need to be, not just successful career-wise, but as a person. It’s very character-building,” said Weeks, who grew up in Philadelphia and now lives in Bear, Delaware.

Weeks said Morton’s demand for participants to be honest and authentic kickstarted his journey to becoming a new man.

“I took an oath [to be a] ‘serial truth-teller,’ and that was the start of the change in my life right there,” he said.

Eric Robinson, vice president of the ReManned Project board, said he frequently hears talk about under-resourced communities, but in his view, not enough time and energy is spent on helping individuals who need help gaining the skills needed to be successful, from mental health care to education.

“How can I actually walk in a way that my son or my family can follow after me if I’m ill-prepared or I don’t have the equipment mentally, emotionally, spiritually, education-wise, to actually do what is necessary, to not only provide for my family, but to actually be a productive citizen in my community?” Robinson said. “This is not just about helping one man. This is about helping a community of men that are crying for support.”

In addition to personal skill development and leadership training, the ReManned Project offers men financial advice, including the basics of banking and how to apply for loans, with the help of Matthew Parks, a vice president at Discover Financial Services.

“I’m willing to give my time, talent, and resources that I have available to make sure that the men have the knowledge, and a place to go to and ask for advice that may not always be available to them,” Parks said.

Morton also works with licensed behavioral health clinicians to evaluate potential participants to make sure they’re prepared to take part in the program.

“We dig deep into some of the trauma that these guys have experienced, some of the challenges with employment, some of the challenges with mindset, health issues that these guys are encountering,” he said. “You just can’t launch them into a process without kind of easing them into dealing with some of the things that they’ve had to encounter over time.”