OUR MISSION
To provide safe, supportive, and individualized services that empower youth to overcome challenges, build life skills, strengthen connections, and move toward successful, independent futures.
OUR STORY
Second Mile Services was established in 2021 with a vision that was both personal and purposeful: to create meaningful opportunities and stronger systems of support for young people who need them most.
Casteel Johnson, CEO
Born and raised in the Baltimore, MD, our Founder and CEO, Casteel Johnson, understood firsthand the strengths of the communities around him, but also recognized the challenges many young people face when they do not have consistent support, positive influences, or access to the right resources. He founded Second Mile Services with the belief that a young person's circumstances should not determine the direction of their future, and that sometimes making a difference simply means being willing to go a little further.
What began as a commitment to serving youth in our own community has grown into an organization serving children and families throughout Maryland. Since 2021, Second Mile Services has had the opportunity to work alongside Departments of Social Services in numerous Maryland counties, supporting youth with complex and varying needs. Those partnerships have allowed us to build relationships with local agencies, understand the evolving needs of Maryland's child welfare system, and continue developing services that respond to those needs.
GROWING WITH THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY
As Second Mile has grown, so has our ability to serve.
Our work has expanded beyond our original services to include one-on-one support, supervised visitation, transportation, and residential care. With each step forward, our focus has remained on providing services that are dependable, responsive, and centered around the individual youth, not simply the program they have been referred to.
Today, Second Mile Services is a licensed Residential Child Care provider in the State of Maryland and a contracted provider with the Maryland Social Services Administration. Becoming a licensed residential provider represents an important next chapter for our organization, allowing us to provide not only community-based support, but also safe and structured homes where youth can receive consistent care, stability, and guidance.
And we're continuing to grow.
Our expansion isn't about becoming the largest provider. It's about becoming a stronger resource for Maryland's youth, families, and communities. As needs change, we want Second Mile to continue evolving, developing programs, strengthening partnerships, expanding our reach, and finding new ways to fill gaps in services.
WHY SECOND MILE?
Experiences That Expand Possibilities
We believe young people deserve opportunities to experience life beyond their everyday circumstances. Throughout the year, we create meaningful experiences through community outings, amusement parks, sporting events, live shows and performances, recreational activities, celebrations, workshops, and exposure to new environments and opportunities. Whether it's attending a first professional sporting event, discovering a new interest, or simply having an opportunity to enjoy being a kid, we want our youth to build positive memories and see possibilities they may not have imagined for themselves.
Pouring Into the Whole Person
Our work goes far beyond outings and activities. We intentionally create opportunities to teach, encourage, mentor, and prepare youth for what comes next. Through workshops, everyday conversations, and hands-on experiences, we help youth strengthen life skills, communication, decision-making, financial and personal responsibility, confidence, and independence. We take the time to learn who each young person is; their interests, strengths, challenges, goals, and what motivates them, because we want every youth in our care to know that someone sees their potential and is invested in their future.
Care That Goes Beyond
At the heart of the Second Mile experience is consistency. We understand that trust isn't always immediate, so our commitment is to keep showing up, listening, encouraging, setting healthy boundaries, celebrating progress, providing redirection, and giving youth opportunities to grow from their mistakes. Our approach balances compassion with accountability, while meeting each young person where they are. Ultimately, we want youth to leave Second Mile with more than a completed service; we want them to leave with more confidence, more skills, more experiences, stronger connections, positive memories, and a greater sense of what their future can become.