Building on a survey of the role of religious institutions in programs for high-risk youth and consultations with experts in the field, a field demonstration project was implemented to test strategies for using religious institutions to anchor local partnerships aimed at high-risk youth. The partnerships were designed to address the developmental needs of the highest-risk young people, those whom most programs, and social policy itself, seem to have abandoned. This report, based on the first year of working with these programs, is the first of a series to come. The 11 collaborative sites represent a variety of approaches, diversity of religious and ethnic traditions, and a multiplicity of geographical areas, both urban and suburban. Early lessons from these sites are the: (1) challenge of capacity building; (2) challenge of connecting with funding sources; (3) challenge of evaluation; (4) need for focused leadership; (5) challenge of targeting high-risk youth; (6) need for collaboration; (7) importance of planning and program strategies; (8) importance of building relationships of trust; and (9) role of faith. Preliminary findings point to the importance of faith-based initiatives in working with high-risk youth. (Contains 12 references.) (SLD)