The Project was conceptualized in 2006 by the Founder and Executive Director, Leon Jackson, and later became incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit in April 2009. Mr. Jackson was vexed by the disservice of social systems that were hindering returning citizens (ex-offenders reentering society after serving their time) or recently separated veterans from the military, as well as troubled, at-risk youth and their respective families from reaching their greatest potential. He envisioned a program dedicated to educating, empowering, and employing those individuals—particularly ex-offenders and troubled youth—to rise above their circumstances, break free from the system’s cycle, and unlock their potential to become productive and engaged citizens with dignity and economic stability.

Upon collaborating with likeminded, passionate partners who aspired to be the change they wanted to see in their community, they immediately began taking grassroots action in 2007 by working one-on-one with clients through case management and mentorship. By 2009, the Project became a formal organization and began scaling its work in the county. Over the course of five years, the Project served over 400 clients, mostly Black and brown males ages 13 and up, to help overcome their circumstances and achieve notable personal progress economically and socially. The staff of volunteers successfully helped their client build a firm foundation to become better versions and productive citizens. However, after five years of dedicated service, the organization became dormant to allow its core leadership volunteers time to focus on retooling and formal training with the intentions of further scaling and structuring the program.

Since then, the organization has progressively grown and now has the potential to become a forerunner in the nonprofit sector dedicated to helping men in rural North Carolina.

The Project currently is diligently organizing with partners and community members to amplify and mitigate the social economic justice needs of Black and brown men in Lee and Harnett County in North Carolina.

As change agents, Project Point Five uses three gears to drive impact and progress forward. The first aims to provide direct services and technical assistance to clients in-need to stabilize critical circumstances and personal situations. Secondly, we take preventative and intervening measures to reduce the number of these personal situations manifesting in the community.

Thirdly, we organize to raise awareness and advocate against the systemic issues at the local and statewide levels that exacerbate these social and economic disparities and waste resources. Ultimately as our services and assistance succeed in delivering tangible results, improving the community outcomes through prevention and intervention, and advocating for policy reforms, we will decrease the need for first two.

Our assumptions are that these situations manifest due to a lack of economic stability, toxic home environments, the absence of strong role models or mentors, or a combination of the like. These are collectively the results of systems of racial and economic discrimination. The conditions of these circumstances can have prolonged and unconscious effect on the well-being of families and can limit the economic mobility of future generations. In a prosperous nation, no one should face the misery social and economic instability where basic social and health needs are not met.

We also assume that these issues can largely be prevented and/or mitigated with proper allocation of accessible resources and by amplifying awareness. We believe that by building alliances throughout the community, we can create a network of reliable, accessible, and practical resources that when available to the target populations can quickly produce quality transformations that result in recipient’s self-sufficiency. These personal transformations at scale deliver healthier family units that benefit exponentially from the newfound stability and productivity. We believe engagement, education, empowerment, and enlightenment are the fundamental to this process that is driven by the hope of overcoming.

We define engagement as the willing participation, interaction, and reception of resources and knowledge made accessible to clients and/or volunteers. We define education as the spreading of comprehensible knowledge, information, and principles shared to enrich understanding. Empowerment is defined as the unhindered inspiration, interest, and ability to taken action and pursue objectives. Lastly, we define enlightenment as the manifestation of self-determination and elevated awareness of possibility upon pursuing and achieving personal goals.

Thus, paving a path to community wholeness.