Javon’s D.E.C.K. Of Cards; stands for Day-to-Day Decisions, Effect, Choices, Keep-Going.
It was started after the suicide death of Javon M. Williams, beloved son of Founder, Serena Johnson in May of 2020. Javon was only 24 years old. After mourning the death of her son, Serena decided that she wanted to positively impact her community in hopes that no other mother or family would have to endure a similar reality. With the help of her family and close friends, Javon’s D.E.C.K. of Cards was established.
The main mission of Javon’s D.E.C.K. of Cards is to facilitate available mental, physical, health, educational and financial resources for young minority males between the ages of 12-25 years old and provide support for their families.
The main mission of Javon’s D.E.C.K. of Cards is to facilitate available mental, physical, health, educational and financial resources for young minority males between the ages of 12-25 years old and provide support for their families.
The goal is to reach this demographic before the despair and hopelessness sets in and leads to devastating results. Our organization works specifically with this under served segment to help increase visibility and awareness to available resources in and around their specific community.
Specifically,
- In 2016, The NCHS Vital Stats showed Black male suicide rate to be at 10.5 which was 4x times the rate of Black women in the same age group.
- In 2015, JAMA Pediatric shows an 86% increase in suicide among black children, principally males.
- In 2017, Childtrends reported Black males ages 15-17, were 64.5% likely to die from a fire-armed related death vs. 15.8% of their White counterparts.
- In 2019, the Federal Reserve Economic Data shows the Black unemployment rate is consistently twice that of the White unemployment rate since 1972-2019.
- According to Prisionpolicy.org, Black men who were formerly incarcerated are less than 30% likely to receive their High School Diploma or GED and less than 3% likely to graduate college.
- In 2015, US Census Bureau, shows a 10.7% decrease in Black homeownership which is twice as much as their White counterparts
- In, PEW Research Center shows, Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to pay higher mortgage rates
- The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported that Black men with a bachelor’s degree still have incomes far below their White counterparts with similar education levels.
For these and many other reasons, Javon’s D.E.C.K. of Cards continues to partner with individuals, families, local, national and global foundations to help bridge the gap of needed resources for our minority male youth. Javon would be so proud of all the work put into helping others that look and feel like he did!