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In honor of Juneteenth we are featuring Kyree – a face of the People of the Neighborhood Resilience Project who is working to bring resources to youth in the community. As we honor the struggle and freedom of those who were enslaved, we also continue to work to provide opportunity for everyone.
“I’m originally from Wilkinsburg in Pittsburgh. That’s where I’ve lived my whole life. Outside of work, I coach youth football, which is a part of the reason why I do the job that I do. I coach five and six year olds, so it’s a challenge, but I love those kids. Just being with them is such an exciting and rewarding time. When I saw the youth engagement position was open, my eyes actually lit up. I was already coaching football at the time and looking to move into a better position where I could have a deeper impact with the youth. I’m a person who speaks in and cares about my community a lot, so seeing how the Neighborhood Resilience Project cares about the community meant a lot to me.
Right now, we’re running four cohorts at Friendship Academy focused on leadership and advocacy—teaching youth how to be leaders in their communities and schools, and how to find positive ways to go against gun violence. It’s really rewarding because you see the impact on the youth who have gone through a lot of traumatic events that land them in the circumstances and situations that they’re in. I love just seeing how they light up when talking about their future and wanting to be better. A lot of people look at Friendship Academy as a school for students with issues. But in reality, it’s just a school with kids that need a chance – a person to talk to and provide them with opportunity. Just today, I was hearing from students that what I’m doing really means so much to them, because they haven’t ever had anything like it.
To me, the Neighborhood Resilience Project means family. A lot of the families that we serve, they come from broken homes. They come from broken families. So when I think of NRP, I think of family. I think of coming into work every day and saying good morning to everyone, laughing, joking, and enjoying my job. And the way that I look at it as someone from the community is that we’re here to help. We’re here to give everyone that opportunity, that voice that they might not have had, and provide them with better opportunities to succeed in their lives.
Working here has made a very big impact on me. My team is so supportive, honestly, of everything that I do. I can’t really explain it, because I enjoy it that much. But just being here – knowing that I’m making an impact, being a part of something that will be on a bigger scale, and providing myself with the opportunities to succeed – it’s pushed me to be a better person at home and also in my community, for both the kids and parents that I serve. It makes me want to pour out more into the community.”