Communities in Schools — A Success Story  

 We'd like to tell you the story of one of Communities in Schools of Durham’s (CIS) students, Tom Smith.* Three years ago he was a high school freshman who was getting into regular arguments with several other students and was

struggling academically.  The other students were provoking him, but Tom also admits that he had some anger issues.  He dropped out of high school after getting into a fight with one of the students. 

 

Tom was referred to CIS’ Career Mentoring Program by one of our community partners, The Durham Literacy Center, where he was enrolled in the Teen GED program. CIS connected him to a mentor who had had troubles earlier in his life, but was now on staff at TROSA, a drug rehabilitation program.  His mentor discovered that Tom was passionate about auto mechanics.  Tabatha McEachin, a VISTA Volunteer at CIS, found a small automotive repair shop, Rufus Butler's auto mechanic shop, willing to take Tom on as a summer intern.  So Tom’s life path was looking much better than it had a few months before.

 

 Just days before his internship began, however, Tom was arrested for possession of drugs and a gun. It also became apparent that Tom may have been involved in some gang activity.  Many of the adults in his life, including his mentor, began to despair that Tom had blown it.  While in jail, Tom used one of his few phone calls to call Rufus to apologize.  He was in tears, realizing that he may have blown one of the few opportunities he had been given for a positive future.  He pleaded with Rufus to let him do his internship if he was released from jail. In fact, he was released because it was determined that the drugs and gun were his friend's. 

 

 Tom’s internship was a huge success.  Not only did he complete the four-week internship (which was funded by Durham City's Workforce Preparedness Board), but he wanted to continue.  Both he and his mother knew that the financial incentives of selling drugs would tempt Tom if he did not have an opportunity to earn money from legitimate work.  CIS then began soliciting private donations to help Tom continue his internship at the auto mechanics shop.  Several generous individuals sent in checks that paid for Tom to continue his internship.  Once those funds were exhausted, CIS staff found a supervisor at a local Jiffy Lube shop that was willing to help Tom by hiring him.  Since then, Tom has earned his GED and plans on attending Durham Tech to take classes in car repair.

 

CIS’ experience with Tom shows the importance of not giving up on our at-risk teens.  There were multiple points at which CIS and its partners could have given up on Tom.  The crisis and barriers he had to overcome seemed insurmountable at times.  His experience also shows the importance of creating pro-social opportunities for our youth.  Tom wanted to work and wanted to follow his passion of working with cars.  He wanted the opportunity to do legitimate work as opposed to selling drugs on the street.  “Without CIS' support,” Tom says, “I'd probably be hanging out somewhere...I might still have been working, but I might have been on the streets.”  Tom’s experience also shows the importance of community partnerships. Helping Tom succeed took the work of several agencies with different types of expertise, funding from city-run and federally-funded programs, and donations from individuals.  It took the community to help Tom.

 

(*Student’s name changed.)  

BY BUD REITER-LAVERY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF DURHAM