Belonging and Love are next on the ladder. Youth have a desire to belong to groups: clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. We need to feel loved (non-sexual) by others, to be accepted by others. We incorporate regular, structured group activities into the program in order to create a sense of family in the mentoring program. This provides a healthy alternative to our mentees to other types of groups that they may be exposed to (gangs, cliques, etc.).

Esteem is next. Through the attention and recognition that comes from others (mentor and group), self-value is raised and the mentee is psychologically ready to work on the development of higher self-esteem. When a volunteer mentor gives his/her time to the mentee it tells the mentee that they are worth something and produces demonstrable increases in self-esteem. The introduction of group sessions and workshops designed to help mentees master life skills (conflict resolution, communication, team building, goal setting, etc.) also builds self-confidence and self-esteem.

Self-actualization is at the top of Maslow's ladder. The need for self-actualization is "the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming." It is self-evident that in order to think in these terms the youth must feel worthy and capable. They also need to feel that their basic needs for safety, survival, belonging and esteem are fulfilled. People who have everything can maximize their potential. They can seek knowledge, peace, esthetic experiences, self-fulfillment, oneness with God, etc. Our experience has been that highly "at risk" students in our programs are far more likely to sign up for "community service" towards the end of our program (after they've achieved certain life skills mastery and feel the bond from their mentors) than they are at the beginning of the program. In fact, in the general population it is usually middle to upper-class students who take up environmental causes, join the Peace Corps, go off to a monastery, etc.