PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A group of mental health advocates will lead a new program in Portsmouth Public Schools beginning in mid-September.

The Edward Brown Foundation will begin the Youth Guard mentoring and gang prevention program through a partnership with Communities in the Schools.

“I started off in Newport News. I worked five years under Terry Bonner. I realized gangs were really a problem,” said George DeGroat, Edward Brown Foundation executive director. “I lost over 60 clients in homicides. It was just really broke my heart to see that many kids dying.”

“We were burying kids from 14 to 25-years-old. I was in Newport News, but I looked at Portsmouth and I said, ‘We really need gang prevention because this same problem is happening in Portsmouth.'”

DeGroat enlisted fellow I.C. Norcom High School alum Geravis Brown to address the issue three years ago.

“Both George and I have lost individuals that we love to gun violence, so that’s another motivating factor,” Geravis Brown said. “The Youth Guard program, we’re going to have myself, George and our program coordinator, Gemayl ‘Mel’ Johnson. [We’ll be] present in the school to build rapport, work one-on-one with individuals on the caseload. [We’ll] start developing groups where we’re working on emotional intelligence, anger management and being able to get down to the root of the trauma.”

The two believe representation in schools will have a lasting impact on the students.  

“When I worked in Newport News, our presence was huge,” DeGroat said. “Just having African American males in the school that are not police … the kids feel like they can talk to us and not the police. A lot of times there were guns in the school [and] they would tell me or Mr. Bonner, ‘Hey, somebody has a gun’ or ‘Hey, these people are about to fight’ because they trust us, and we are not we’re not trying to get you in trouble. We’re here to help.”

The group will work in I.C. Norcom High School, Manor High School, Cradock Middle School, Waters Middle School, Cradock Elementary, Victory Elementary and Simonsdale Elementary.

“A lot of these kids that we’ve been working with, they may be gang-affiliated, but you get them one-on-one. They are just kids. They have dreams and aspirations,” Geravis Brown said. “That’s one of the things that we’re focused on, to get them one-on-one, getting them away from the negative influences and tap into who they are as a person. Kids can only act on what they’ve been taught, what they’ve learned and what’s been put around them. Being able to be a presence and let young men know that there’s a different way. There’s a better way.”

DeGroat told 10 On Your Side the foundation was founded in honor of his late friend Edward Brown.

“He was my best friend. He made some bad decisions when he was younger, got out of prison, changed his life around,” DeGroat said. “He died in a car accident in 2016. I told his mom his name will live on forever.”

Geravis Brown adds, “I met his mom a few months ago. I’m very proud to be able to do some work, in service of her son.”

Learn more about the Edward Brown Foundation.