It stands to reason that the best way to keep adults from exhibiting social pathologies, including criminal behavior, is to give them hope and tools when they are young. Across the country, innovative projects are doing just that — including one in New Orleans celebrating its 25th anniversary this week.

Thumbnail sketches of the New Orleans program, one in Mobile, Alabama, and one in St. Paul, Minnesota, give a sense of the ways young people can be inspired to forge better lives.