A narrative evaluation of a faith-based aftercare program for youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

This article evaluates the effectiveness of the Magone Home Aftercare Program (MHAP), a faith-based juvenile justice residential facility in the Philippines, in facilitating the successful reintegration of adolescent male offenders into their communities. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, the study analyzed life stories of 12 former MHAP beneficiaries through the lens of redemptive narrative identity, revealing how participants transformed adverse childhood experiences—such as extreme poverty, parental neglect, and early criminal involvement—into personal growth marked by wisdom, new opportunities, sources of strength, and a desire to help others. The findings highlight the integral role of MHAP's faith-based interventions, including spiritual formation, skills training, and a nurturing environment grounded in the Salesian preventive system's principles of Reason, Religion, and Loving Kindness, in supporting identity reconstruction and prosocial behavior. The study underscores the value of narrative methods in program evaluation and suggests implications for policy, mental health practice, and post-program support systems to sustain reintegration outcomes.