ABC stands for Achieving Better Communities.  It was founded in 2020 by Tarik Brown, a Baltimore City school teacher and highly decorated basketball coach.  His goal is to support the underserved youth populations in Baltimore City and the surrounding areas by providing them with the basic needs to thrive in the community and sports.  Through building stronger connections and working more intently with youth, Tarik discovered how the effects of childhood trauma limited and disrupted the trajectory of the youth.  Through research and trainings, it was discovered that ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) are key components in preventing youth from becoming competent, successful adults.  Providing a comprehensive holistic approach is the best strategy to support youth; understanding that it is not only beneficial to work directly with the impacted youth, but the community/village that serves them.  ABC partners with a variety of groups (non-profits, government agencies, grassroots organizations and more) in the community to provide wrap around services for the entire family/village, thus our quest to “achieve a better community.”  Our integrative model for combating ACEs is replicable in communities everywhere as we are expanding our services across the state of Maryland.