Next Step’s mission is to shatter limitations and elevate aspirations of teens and young adults living with chronic life-threatening illnesses during their transition to adulthood. Next Step provides free year-round education and support programs for young people, ages 16-29, who are coping with cancer, HIV and rare genetic disorders.

​Next Step offers a program that includes afterschool workshops that helps teens overcome these issues through intensive one on one academic tutoring, mentoring, peer support, disease management education and medical self-advocacy training programs. Teens are paired with college students who provide individualized support and guidance through weekly group sessions and hospital visits. Most Next Step youth living with sickle cell disease participate for the duration of their high school career, building meaningful and long-lasting relationships with their mentors. The goal is to help teens manage their condition effectively so that they can successfully finish high school and realize their full potential.