Brandon Andres Green, host of Good Neighbor Podcast Tulsa, sits down with Chris Beach from Tulsa Youth Works to talk about literacy, hunger, leadership, and why strong community support matters right now in North Tulsa.
When 58% of kids begin falling behind or dropping out starting in fourth grade, that is not a future problem. It is a right-now problem. Pair that with hunger, poverty stress, and limited transportation, and you begin to see why organizations like Tulsa Youth Works are so important.
Chris shares how Tulsa Youth Works invests in young people through year-round programming built around practical support, consistent relationships, and real leadership opportunities. Their model includes a 10-week summer camp, a 30-week after-school program, and school-break camps that make sure kids are fed, cared for, and surrounded by adults and mentors who show up.
We talk about how early reading challenges connect to long-term school outcomes, then go deeper into why leadership development cannot wait until graduation. These kids plan, serve, learn, and lead right now. They build responsibility, confidence, and a sense of purpose that changes how they see themselves and their neighborhood.
Health and nutrition are a major part of the conversation too, from daily exercise to learning how to cook and understand food choices in a way that helps prevent childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Chris also shares what Tulsa Youth Works is preparing next: a mobile pizza and produce trolley designed to bring nutrition education, cooking help, and practical wellness support into some of Tulsa’s largest low-income apartment communities.
Along the way, we get into pizza, basketball, the ranch, regenerative farming, and the moments that prove kids are capable of far more than most adults assume.
If you care about youth mentoring, literacy, community health, and the future of Tulsa, this conversation will stick with you.
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