In 2006 the city of Oakland's homicide rate reached 148. Thirty percent of the homicide victims were African-American youths under the age of 19. After years of working in the field of law enforcement and talking to many of the young offeners who came through the jails, we saw that a lot of these young men had great potential; however, they lacked the discipline, structure and guidance it takes to lead postive productive lives. A majority of them stated that there was no father in the home nor any positive male role models to guide them in the right direction.

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On January 13, 2007 six deputy sheriffs came together with no experience and no funding, just a strong desire to try and save the lives of young black men. Out of this desire, the Men of Iron Mentoring and Leadership Program was formed.

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Our goal is to mentor young boys age 6 to 12 and give them a solid foundation of discipline, structure and respect on which to build their lives.

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The Men of Iron Mentoring program is an independent part of True Vine Ministries - Oakland, CA. 94607 ( Zachary E. Carey, Pastor)

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