Roca Baltimore partners with Ravens to empower young men and reduce violence

By Kendra Bryant
Special to the AFRO

M&T Bank Stadium’s The Trust club hosted Roca Baltimore’s “Night of Elegance” on June 26 to celebrate 20 young men for their growth and commitment to the program. 

The event’s black-tie dress code was inspired by a program member’s confession that he had never worn a suit.

“He didn’t just want for me to purchase him one but to create a venue for all of them to attend while wearing one,” said Tyrone Kent, director of Roca Baltimore. “Some of the behaviors are based on environment and even attire. When you have a young man and get him out of his comfort zone to put on a suit and a pair of dress shoes, the behavior changes. Even though we may not look at it as deep, it is.” 

Sharp Dressed Man and K&G Fashion Superstore donated suits to Roca members for the evening, with tailoring services provided by Brian Collins. 

“People don’t understand, they think it’s just a suit, but it’s the character ,” said Kent. “This is the beginning of what we want to do on a regular basis. When you dress the part, you play the part and the way you think is different.” 

Roca Baltimore was founded in 2018 with a mission to relentlessly disrupt violence by engaging young people, police and systems to heal trauma, find hope and drive change for young men aged 18-24. The organization began a five-year, $300,000 partnership with the Baltimore Ravens in 2024. 

“These young men deal with day-to-day traumas and have to continue to go back into that environment,” said Kent. “With their trust, we build transformational relationships and encourage them to believe in themselves. We create a safe space for them to fail, but we continue to push and support them. This is what it looks like when you have patience and believe in the mission.”

More than 80 percent of Roca members have four or more of the following risk factors: no employment history; involvement with the criminal justice system; drug, street and gang involvement and no high school completion. 

“I was always a juvenile delinquent,”said Myron Green, a Roca member. “You could never get me out of trouble. But Roca had a relentless effort and they kept on trying. I would always try to avoid them and I never wanted to be a part of the program because I felt like I could do it all by myself. But when times got hard, I realized I couldn’t. I’ve seen a change in myself mentally, physically and financially. I want to have a career; and they’ve given us plans and training on different levels to where we can make more money than settling for a minimum wage job.”

The program bases its teachings on cognitive behavioral therapy, a technique that assists with communicating emotions and changing thinking patterns. 

“I learned how to label my feelings,” said Manuel Brown, a Roca member. “I learned how to be present, focus on the here and now. I learned how to act on my values. I have bigger and better things to worry about instead of doing the same stuff I was doing in the previous years.”

Brown joined Roca after being arrested in 2021. When he was released, he was instructed to become a member of the program. After being rearrested and learning that he would soon become a father, he decided to give the program a true chance. 

“I really wasn’t active at first because I didn’t want to change,” said Brown. “But after being locked up again, I decided I had a plan. I wanted to go to prom and graduate. The program staff came to my house and had a deep conversation with me, asking me, “Is this what you want? Do you want to change?”

Since then, Brown earned his high school diploma and has worked consecutively for 18 months since his incarceration. 

Despite Baltimore’s efforts to decrease youth crime, there is still ongoing discourse among media outlets and political figures about the prevalence of juvenile crime.

According to the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore-based organization, if crime by young people nationally or in Baltimore was “out of control,” it wasn’t apparent in the arrest data provided by the Baltimore Police Department. Despite statistical evidence suggesting that youth offenses in Baltimore City have not increased compared to pre-pandemic levels and that reported youth crime may be low compared to historic norms, there is a persistent public perception that crime involving young people is increasing. 

“We purposely reach out to the high-risk young men because we want the people in the city to know that those young men that we deem to be high risk are only because we didn’t give them opportunities to change,” said Kent. “We didn’t put them in positions to do something different, so our program allows that.”

Along with vocational training and transitional employment, Roca also assists members with food and housing needs. 

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