Sims-Fayola Empowerment Zone (SFEZ)

18-Week Program

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The Sims-Fayola Empowerment Zone (SFEZ) is a proof-point implementation initiative of the Sims-Fayola
Foundation designed to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color by strengthening the conditions
surrounding their development, well-being, relationships, and future opportunities. Empowerment Zone brings together positive youth development, behavioral health, identity development, mentoring and coaching, restorative practices, family engagement, educational support, and workforce readiness within a coordinated implementation model. The initiative is grounded in the understanding that young people experience better and more predictable outcomes when the systems around them are intentionally designed to provide belonging, consistency, accountability, support, and meaningful opportunity.
 

For the Sims-Fayola Foundation, Empowerment Zone is more than a direct-service program. It functions as
an implementation laboratory where the Foundation can demonstrate what effective systems of belonging
look like in practice, examine how those conditions affect young people, refine the model through evidence
and experience, and generate practical knowledge that can strengthen schools, community organizations,
behavioral health systems, juvenile justice systems, and public policy.