The Young Men’s Empowerment Academy (YMEA) program is a preventative intervention targeted to engage pre-teens and teenagers in activities that develop their identity and relationships in order to foster improvements in their health, behavior and academic performance. YMEA promotes healthy development for boys in two ways: by helping them build close relationships to their peers, program facilitator and schools, and secondly, by helping develop the social and emotional skills they need to succeed in school and in life.