Mentorship, community, and faith for the next generation growing up in our neighborhoods.
Adolescence is hard anywhere. In a low-income neighborhood like the Washington community of downtown San Jose, it is harder.
Young people growing up here navigate poverty, gang pressure, under-resourced schools, and the particular loneliness of feeling like the world has already made a decision about who they are and what they can become. Without trusted adults, spiritual formation, and community that sees them as full human beings with real futures.
The research on youth mentorship is unambiguous: consistent relationships with caring adults change outcomes. They improve graduation rates, reduce risky behavior, and build the kind of internal resilience that lasts a lifetime.
Healing Grove’s Youth Group exists to be that consistent presence in the lives of young people in our community.
Healing Grove Youth Group gathers young people from the Washington neighborhood and surrounding communities for regular programming rooted in faith, mentorship, and belonging. The program is built on the conviction that every young person is created in the image of God — with gifts, a calling, and a future worth investing in.
When a teenager has adults who believe in them — who show up, who challenge them, who pray for them — it changes what they believe about themselves. That belief changes everything else.
