“How do you give these survivors of the drug wars, who are at the bottom of every statistic, hope?”

One of the center’s most important functions is also its simplest: It gives men a safe spot to hang out in West Baltimore. Most of the workforce-training graduates who still visit the center — watching the classes, meeting with counselors, using the computers — told me they come because being there keeps them out of trouble. “There aren’t too many places in Baltimore where men can be positive together,” says one Strive graduate.

This Monica Potts piece in the American Prospect is so well-reported and so good.