Smart Business Magazine, November 2017

I have a passion for helping young people because I know how hard it is in the streets ANDRE TOWNSEND DIRECTOR PATHWAY TO RESILIENCE November 2017 Smart Business Cleveland 31 in 2014 and had the third lowest high school graduation rate among the 50 largest cities in the nation at 34 percent From 2010 to 2014 Cleveland saw 4794 arrests of people ages 15 to 25 for murder robbery and felonious assault Andre Townsend is a director at Pathway to Resilience who has been working with at risk youth for 15 years He understands the challenges they face having faced many of the same obstacles during his own childhood I have a passion for helping young people because I know how hard it is in the streets Townsend says Many of my friends are dead or in prison but mostly dead because of the streets I see young people all the time doing things that I know they dont really want to do But they dont have instruction to make a better way So how are they going to know how to change Pathway to Resilience is based on innovative research on gang intervention conducted by the late Irving Spergel and sponsored by the U S Department of Justices Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention It showed that the most effective intervention strategies combine policing mentoring and social services Ive been working in the field of corrections for 26 years says Sharyna Cloud director of Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance I know there is a lot of untapped potential out there and Ive always wanted to help these young people I know the struggles they go through This program gives young men an opportunity to be better men better fathers and better voices in the community Were touching them but theyre touching so many other lives Familiar challenges Boys Girls Clubs of Cleveland serves more than 8600 youth annually at 15 locations in Cleveland Cleveland Heights East Cleveland and Garfield Heights The clubs provide a safe place for children to learn and grow and develop ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals says Ron Soeder president and CEO of the nonprofit Pathway to Resilience builds on our ongoing programs and will provide Cleveland youth with intensive job skills training that will offer them a pathway toward employment and away from gang activity Soeder says As Rosen listened to the stories from participants he took particular interest in the story of one young man who grew up on Clevelands Kinsman Road My grandfather was born and raised on Kinsman Rosen says His father moved to Kinsman with no education He was a bricklayer My grandfather received an eighth grade education and he grew up on Kinsman with seven siblings in one house Weve got something in common He went on and he learned some trades and skills that enabled him to provide for his family and eventually provide for his siblings and do the things you guys all want to do It started for me on Kinsman Rosen added that finding success in life does not happen by accident You have to surround yourself with folks who want you to be successful he says A lot of folks you come across unfortunately dont define success the same way you do You have to replace whats comfortable and what you know with an unknown and hopefully this program will do that Youll find amongst each other a friendship and become goaloriented and define what you want to become How to reach Boys Girls Clubs of Cleveland 216 883 2106 or www clevekids org Resilience Capital Partners 216 292 0200 or www resiliencecapital com