After 22 years of mediating disputes between gang members and counseling at-risk youth, Sidney M. Rosen is stepping down as head of the Adult Friends for Youth. The nonprofit mental health and human service agency founded by Rosen has kept thousands of O'ahu youth from taking the wrong path.

Rosen, 70, will retire July 1, and will be replaced by Deborah L.K. Spencer, AFY's senior master practitioner.

Since its start in 1985, AFY has reached out to young adults afflicted by poverty, violent family situations, drugs and language barriers. Youth gang members who have run afoul of the law have been offered counseling, and AFY counselors routinely appear at court hearings and prison cells to offer support.

"The problem of drugs and gangs is solvable, but the fact is that these kids have a range of problems that go far beyond what the average adult can respond to," said Rosen. "The kids that we are working with tend to be the low-income, minority kids who are involved in high-risk behavior. People don't feel that the poor deserve help for their emotional disabilities. ... These are the kids that society writes off. Why aren't we helping those kids?"

At any given time the agency is working with 300 youths enrolled in the 11 different social programs the agency runs.

AFY employs 11 counselors, some of them former gang members. The agency is funded by donations, federal and state grant money and annual fundraising efforts.

One counselor, Malakai Maumalanga, went to jail at the age of 18 for his part in a drive-by shooting. With the help of AFY, he went on to earn a master's degree in social work and now counsels young people in danger of repeating his mistakes.

"We truly believe that every kid matters and we just have to give them the opportunity that other (more affluent) kids have," said Spencer, who has been with the agency for 20 years. "Our philosophy has always centered on making these kids believe that they matter and it's amazing to see the behavior shift once they believe in themselves."

AFY's most popular program takes place in high schools and middle schools around the island. The alternative education program identifies at-risk youth who have trouble with school attendance, drugs, grades and gang-related crime. The program brings the young people together and forces them to discuss issues while encouraging the pursuit of education and a crime-free life.

The program's counselors make themselves available at all times, including giving out their mobile phone numbers.

"Kids don't go to school because of what happens (at home) with their family. Kids get into drugs because a family member could be in jail or something," said outreach counselor Mac Schwenke. "We provide a positive sense of belonging. For these kids, trust is everything, and that's not going to happen overnight."

Schwenke and other counselors have resolved hundreds of disputes between rival gangs.

In March 2006, Schwenke and the agency helped resolve a two-week-long feud between students from Farrington and Campbell high schools that had led to several fights involving more than 100 students.

Rosen said he will spend his time after leaving AFY working on a second book about youth counseling, focusing on the methods practiced by the agency he founded.

"A lot of our practice has been built on the work of Mac and Debbie and they have the strength and the will to carry on the agency," he said.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.