As Black History Month ends, Portland’s REAP, a nonprofit empowering underserved youth, celebrates 25 years of transformative impact in education and mental health.
PORTLAND, Ore. — As Black History Month wraps up, a Portland nonprofit focused on uplifting Black and historically underserved youth is celebrating 25 years of impact.
REAP — Reaching and Empowering All People — was founded in 2001 and now serves more than 1,800 students each year across 30 school sites and 14 districts in Oregon and Southwest Washington. What began as youth leadership programming has grown into a comprehensive model that supports the “whole child,” offering leadership development, academic mentoring, and clinical behavioral health services.
According to the organization, 87% of the students it serves are culturally diverse and historically underserved, including many immigrant and refugee youth.
In recent years, REAP has expanded its focus on student mental health. The organization leads the Black Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education. It also provides YouthSave, a suicide assessment and intervention training program for school staff and community providers.
Leaders say the expansion reflects a growing need to address mental health alongside academic success.
Level Thomas, REAP’s CEO, says the organization has always focused on meeting students where they are. “We’ve seen people just graduate and elevate themselves from one level to the next. We weren’t going after the worst kids, we weren’t going after the best kids, we just went after the kid,” Thomas said. “And from that, we’ve seen so many facets of development and growth among our young people.”
Over the past two decades, REAP has expanded statewide, strengthened partnerships with schools and state agencies, and broadened its services to create what it calls sustainable systems of opportunity for youth.
As it marks its 25th anniversary, leaders say the focus remains on building toward the future — not just reflecting on the past.