Raising Him Alone is the vision of David Miller and Matt Stevens. It is based on Miller and Stevens' collective work to improve the life chances of African American males. Miller and Stevens were compelled to join forces to create an advocacy campaign that focused specifically on supporting single mothers raising boys.

The campaign is based on numerous conversations with local and national organizations on ways to better support African American boys. Additionally, Miller & Stevens hosted a series of focus groups and interviews with single mothers raising boys across the U.S. to determine the successes and challenges which confront these families. Overwhelmingly, mothers indicated issues related to understanding male development, issues with their sons father's and financial constraints as major challenges in their lives.

The campaign acknowledges that nationwide several groups are doing an exceptional job working with African American boys from an academic and social developmental standpoint, however few organizations are working with the parents of these boys.

The campaign recognizes that there has been a total disregard for the voices of single mothers living in urban communities. Such neglect of mothers raising boys has created some alarming trends among African American boys. To this end, the campaign believes that by increasing awareness around the need to connect single mothers to greater access to services (mental health, financial literacy, strategies for parenting a male child and strategies to support school achievement of male children) we can produce more positive outcomes for African American boys. Through funding from the Open Society Institute's Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Raising Him Alone will launch initiatives in Baltimore, MD and Newark, NJ.


In 1999 Miller founded the Urban Leadership Institute (ULI) with LaMarr Darnell Shields as a social enterprise, designed to provide intense life skills training for children, youth and families. Today, ULI has developed an international reputation for providing professional development for organizations working with youth as well designing and implementing models for youth that address alternatives to a gang lifestyle and succumbing to peer pressure while promoting diversity and increasing academic achievement. ULI's publication division has created several award winning life skills curricula that are designed to engage youth around social justice issues. These curricula include: Dare To Be King, Dare To Be Queen, Rhyme & Reason and Where's Mommy & Daddy? They serve as models for promoting healthy decision making, using Hip Hop in the classroom to engage youth, and addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents.

In 2006 ULI developed a strategic partnership with The Residential After-School Program, Inc (RASP) a 501© 3 organization based in New Brunswick, NJ. RASP is managed by Matt Stevens and Dale Caldwell. It was founded in 2005 to increase the high school graduation rates of "at risk" urban students by developing and managing innovative after-school programs for parents and students. In 2007, RASP successfully designed and is currently coordinating the Youth Employment Network for youth and families that reside in and around Newark, New Jersey. The projects include: The Young Men and Young Women Employment Conferences hosted at Rutgers University, Newark campus (servicing 2000 high school students); The Saturday Mentor Academies are scheduled to begin in January 2009 and will be hosted by Rutgers Business School, Rutgers Law School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ and the Greater Newark Alliance of Black School Educators. Another project, The Fathers Make A Difference Forum, is conducted in six New Jersey communities. It provides interactive workshops and activities designed to increase the active involvement of fathers in the lives of their children (servicing 1,000 fathers in the New Jersey cities of Newark, Irvington, West Orange, Paterson, Roselle and Neptune). All programs can be viewed at www.EmpowerTodaysYouth.com.

Further, in 2007, ULI developed a strategic partnership with the Institute for Interactive Instruction (III) to support implementation of Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents (MCP) Grant through the Department of Health & Human Services. III & ULI provide services for children and families in Prince George's County, Maryland who have an incarcerated parent. Through this partnership ULI provides training & support for families, training of mentors and case management services as ULI's 503 c (3) fiscal agent.