Together for Brothers, fiscally sponsored by the Rio Grande Community Development Corporation
Grants Awarded
T4B provides bicycle programming for young men of color (YMOC) aged 12-24 in low-income neighborhoods, promoting outdoor recreation and fostering community connections. Participants engage in seasonal cohorts that focus on personal development, equity education, bike safety, and healthy habits, ultimately enhancing their outdoor experiences and empowering them to advocate for climate and environmental justice. This initiative aims to foster resilience and leadership among participants while contributing to a healthier, more connected community.
T4B empowers boys and young men of color (BYMOC) aged 12-24 from impacted communities to become community leaders and enhance health equity. Through the Biking, Clean Transit, and Outdoor Equity Project, participants will gain skills in bike mechanics, environmental justice, and transit equity, enabling them to effectively share their insights and stories with decision-makers, ultimately fostering a healthier local community.
From September 2020 to April 2021, T4B will facilitate leadership cohorts for 5-10 youth men of color (YMOC) each, fostering community building, healthy relationships, and promoting physical wellness through bike safety, maintenance, and access to outdoor spaces. Participants will also enhance their understanding of health equity, climate justice, and transit equity by learning to organize and share their stories with decision-makers, ultimately benefiting both individuals and the broader Albuquerque community through partnerships with local organizations.
T4B’s vision is, “Together for Brothers (T4B) envisions health and health equity for boys and young men of color (BYMOC) as well as their families and communities.” T4B’s mission is “Together for Brothers, led by community & love, partners across NM with boys & young men of color (BYMOC) & allies to build power, demand justice & create change.”T4B was co-founded by boys and young men of color (BYMOC) and adult allies in the community in 2015 with circles starting in August 2015. Seasonal “cohorts” of BYMOC were started in January 2016 and T4B has hosted seven years and twenty one seasonal cohorts of Winter (January-April), Summer (May-August) and Fall (September-December) including pivoting to school and community based cohorts in fall 2018 and later project based cohorts in summer 2019. In 2017-2018 T4B launched New Mexico’s first youth-led health impact assessment (HIA) to connect transportation and health equity for BYMOC identifying social determinants of access to education, employment and recreation as well as promoting healthy habits including exercise, healthy & local food and mental health. Five years of transit equity and mobility sovereignty organizing have led to Albuquerque being one of the largest cities in the country with free public transit. Also since 2019 T4B has been committed to outdoor access and equity for BYMOC and other most impacted communities with biking and park activation. And finally in 2020 T4B began the process of preparing to launch a food business and social enterprise connected to our cooking & food business project, as well as decolonizing diet and food justice, that includes a baking co-op for BYMOC to prepare, sell and distribute empanada kits. T4B 2024 goals include: building “developmental” (healthy and transformational) relationships between and among BYMOC and adults; building capacity of BYMOC and adults (including families especially mothers of BYMOC as well as bus riders, community partners and decision makers) as leaders and organizers focusing on seasonal cohorts, circles and activities; youth-led data collection, evaluation, outreach and planning; youth-led framework of racial and gender justice in all of T4B’s work; youth-led civic engagement and community organizing campaigns that build power, improve lives and shift relations of power; promoting individual and community health and healing justice; and building capacity and documenting stories, verbal or written, as well as using art and in language(s) of BYMOC. COVID has meant that since March 2020 almost all of our programming has pivoted online with some COVID-safe and outdoor activities in small groups when possible. We are hopeful with data in 2024 that we can see more in person outdoor and indoor activities