Our partners make it possible

    Public Advocacy      

Attorney General Eric Holder's final hearing on the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence was held in Detroit on Wayne State University's campus.  The task force is part of the Attorney General's Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children's exposure to violence.

Our President and CEO, Dara Munson, provided public testimony on the evening prior, sharing how our unique form of one-to-one mentoring is changing the outcomes for Detroit's most vulnerable youth, citing that by providing these children with an additional caring, responsible adult in their lives, Big Brothers Big Sisters reduces truancy, improves behavior, and raises academic outcomes for at-risk youth throughout Detroit.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the only mentoring model cited on the Department of Justice's Crime Solutions website as an effective program reducing youth violence and negative risky behaviors.

The task force will present policy recommendations in a report to Attorney General Holder later this year.

More information on the task force is available at www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.

Government Partners

Federal government support and funding enables local agencies to make a significant impact in their communities and helps maintain strong standards nationally. We have been awarded competitive grants from the following Federal agencies to reinforce our work on behalf of America’s at-risk children:

Department of Human Services – Wayne County
Detroit Police Department
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
United Way of Southeastern Michigan

Government Partners Supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Corporation for National and Community Service 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  

If you are interested in partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters on public policy initiatives, please contact Lynette Simmons, Vice President of Programs, at lynette.simmons@bbbsdetroit.org or 313-309-9250.