Evaluation of an After-School Program for African-American and Hispanic Male Youth: Please Call Me Mister

The novel coronavirus significantly impacted the lives of people worldwide. In the United States, the lives of children and youth were disrupted with school closures and lack of access to afterschool programs they previously attended. African American and Hispanic boys attending an after-school program in Franklin County, Kentucky, called Please Call Me Mister, were among the young people affected. A study was conducted to assess the impact of the afterschool program. The boys were surveyed at the start of the program in November 2017 and again in November 2020 to assess their injury risk, substance use, future orientation, resilience, and exposure to cyberbullying. It was anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stay-at-home orders would negatively impact program outcomes. Program participants showed outstanding resilience and resistance to most negative behaviors with the exception of marijuana use that increased though not significantly. Their level of depression decreased, but remained at a level that warrants concern. The data collected suggest that the Please Call Me Mister program that continued remotely throughout the pandemic had an overall, long-term, positive impact on program participants