At Here’s 2 Life™ Foundation, we create pathways that improve the financial health, well-being, and resilience of vulnerable populations. We leverage music, digital media, and culturally relevant content for education, enrichment, and therapeutic purposes.

Founded in 1999 and federally designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to reduce digital, health, economic, and educational disparities. Over the past two decades, we have partnered with community and faith-based organizations, government agencies, municipalities, schools, and institutions serving youth ages 13–25, providing training, technical assistance, and programs that drive measurable outcomes in health, education, behavior, and lifestyle.

Our Mission

• Improve outcomes in health, education, behavior, and lifestyle using music and media as tools for teaching, learning, and therapy.

• Enhance the financial and health well-being of marginalized youth, young adults, and their families.

• Provide training and technical assistance to strengthen literacy, competencies, and access to care.

• Create pathways to wealth and wellness via signature programs and events that focus on attitudes, beliefs, and choices (ABCs) as the antecedents for action, connecting the ABCs with behavior, culture, and lifestyle (BCL) to create lasting pathways to wealth, wellness, resilience.

The First Ten Years

We focused on closing the digital divide and improving access to accurate, credible health information. In partnership with LIFE 20/20™, universities, and community organizations, we designed training programs for clinicians and laypersons, promoting access to federal health resources including AIDSinfo®, MedlinePlus®, PubMed®, and ClinicalTrials.gov®. During this time, we worked closely with LIFE 20/20 and assisted in creating relationships with universities, community and faith based organizations, government, and non-governmental organizations. Specifically, we helped design and implement health information programs that promoted access to the resources of the National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health [OMH]. We created training courses for clinicians and lay persons promoting: AidsInfo®, MedlinePlus®, PubMed®, ClinicalTrials.gov®, as well as, assisting stakeholders in accessing funding opportunities and other resources of OMH, and NLM.

The Last Ten Years

Our focus shifted to prevention and early intervention for adolescents. Working with youth ages 13–22, clinicians, and educators, we use music and media to provide culturally relevant, engaging experiences that enhance digital literacy, critical thinking, and healthy behaviors. Our approach integrates data, best practices, and lived experience to mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and promote positive childhood experiences (PCEs).

Prevention and early intervention are two examples of good public health strategies to avoid and minimize dis-ease. We have focused the last ten years on adolescence by working with youth, ages 13-22. We have train clinicians, practitioners, and educators who support young people, whether in formal and informal learning settings. We use music and media content and context to prompt young people, their families, school personnel, and community practitioners participate in culturally relevant, fun and engaging learning experiences that improve digital literacy. We rely on data, best practices, and our collective experiences to assist our partners in mitigating adverse childhood experiences, and promoting positive childhood experiences, with emphasis on education and adopting healthy behaviors.

The Present

After 25+ years, we are expanding nationally and globally, building alliances, coalitions, and partnerships to improve access to culturally competent care and achieve health equity. Our programs develop real-world skills—critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, communication, and multiple literacies—to empower young people and communities to thrive in today’s complex world. We know first hand that fostering Positive Childhood Experiences [PCE] that promote competence and resilience, reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences, especially when introduced early. There’s never been another time in modern history where the liberty, personal choice, and freedom can have such a profound impact on the public’s health.