Ep 110 | From inmate to outreach: Building up at-risk youth

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Acting out the way that they feel mentally with guns, with violence, with drugs, with promiscuous activities, with risky behaviors. They're looking for love. My phone number is open 24 hours and ain't that right, Mike.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Yes, yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

It's not a time that you can't call my phone because when they call, I want to be there.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Every year, approximately 1,500 children and teenagers die from gun-related injuries in the United States. And at-risk youth are more likely to become involved in gang conflicts, increasing their exposure to gun violence. My next guest is working for change from the ground up. He's the founder and director of Youths Left Behind, a nonprofit working to end gun violence by building up kids, empowering communities, and creating resilient and healthy young people. Today he's going to share his story, how the program works, and introduce us to one young teen positively impacted by the organization. Learning from the past, leading from the front, Escambia High School graduate, Hassan Hills. I'm so glad y'all are here.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

So this is one of those positions I feel like is full-time plus. Yes. Because even when you and I were talking in our pre-chat off microphone, it was like eight o'clock at night. You were handling business while we were talking. So I feel like you've got, you've got to love it. And to love it, you've got to know it. And you do know it. So what's your story with all of this?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

My story is I have a heart and a passion to serve the community, but especially our young people. I I believe that in order for our young people to be put on the path to success, they have to be provided the proper resources and education, empowerment, and structure in order to reach their goals. So that's that's where my heart is at. This is what I want to do. When I wake up in the morning, I don't wake up in the morning thinking about where I can go buy, what am I going to eat. I wake up in the morning with the mindset of how can I impact the life of a young person in Escambia County.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

And personally, what's your story?

SPEAKER_00 2:42

I have an amazing story. It has a dark side and it has a bright side. I was an at-reach youth coming up in a low-income, underserved black and brown community here in the Scambia County. And I took to the streets going to juvenile, selling drugs. And before I was 14, 15 years old, I was arrested. And I didn't go to the streets to for fortune or fame. I went to the streets because we didn't have. We lacked the basic necessities and resources thereof. And I wanted a better life for me and my siblings and my mom. And what started off as just means to put food on the table led to greed and life of crime. And before I was 20 years old, I was sentenced to life in federal prison for a nonviolent drug offense.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

How do you get sentenced for life for a nonviolent drug offense?

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Based upon the laws at the time, the crap was the epidemic. Like fitnol now, that was cracked back in my era. And everybody wanted it, everybody served it. And we wanted to know, well, the lawmakers wanted to know how can we reduce this epidemic? And the main thing was get harder on the sentences. And up under 851 B1A, it states that if you have one prior conviction with 50 grams or more crack, you can get a life sentence. And they gave me life.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

Wow. And you were 20.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

20 years old.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

So how how are you here with us now?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I'm here by the grace of God. First and foremost. I spent 20 years and 20 days behind those walls.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

20 years?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

20 years in your 20. 20 years in your 20s. And what year was that?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Oh January the 16th, 2001.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

2001 to 2021.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:37

That means you went in when we were like, oh, what's a Google?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:41

And you came out, and there was all this like Facebook and Instagram and AI. Yes. I mean, you're fresh on the outside. How do you not feel overwhelmed by everything?

SPEAKER_00 4:54

I'm overwhelmed every day. It's not a day that I wake up and not be overwhelmed about where I was, where I am now, and what I'm striving to be. And it wasn't easy, you know. It took two presidents, President Barack Obama, community my sentence from life to 30 years. And then Donald Trump, before he left office, he gave me credit for time serve and gave me immediate release. So I believe that had I not gone through what I went through, I wouldn't be able to do the work that I do today and connect with these young people in Escamba County. Because I have a live life experience and I understand in depth every aspect that they go through.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

Yeah, every aspect. Because we're not just talking about your time spent in prison. We're talking about extended time in prison with a life sentence, which means that your cellmates were probably interesting.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 5:50

And probation is no little thing. It's not like, oh, you're out. Yay. It's like it's a it's a thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yes. It's it's a thing. But when you when you change your mindset and you have goals and apparition and you have people that support you, that's big. I must say that re-entering back into society, I had a great support system. And a lot of people returning back from doing prison time or jail time, that's where we fail them at. Had it not been for my wife, had it not been for my daughter, had it not been for the community, has it had it not been for people in the community that made contact with me and was willing to help me navigate, I wouldn't survive. So I'm grateful for that.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

And you were married before you went in?

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Yes. I've been married next next year it'd be 25 years. Wow. Been married to my wife, Katrina. We have one daughter and two grandkids.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

Wow. And there's a tie-in there with your daughter and the name of the organization, yes?

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Yes. You've left behind. Me and my wife were sentenced to long prison sentences. My wife was sentenced to 20 years, and I was sentenced to life, and we left a daughter, our only child, out here by herself. She had family, her grandmother, her grandfather, her aunties, and stuff like that. But anytime you separate a child from their parents, it has a mental and a lasting impression on their life. But I'm forever grateful that we were able to talk to her on the phone and do as much parenting as we could while incarcerated. And she turned out to be a success. Graduated from high school, went to college, has a great career, homeowner, working with the organization. And that's where Youth Left Behind came in contact at. So I I pick it back off some of the things that I couldn't provide for my child while I was in prison. And I sit down with her and I we have conversations about what was needed while I was in prison. And now we come up with Youth Left Behind. And we just don't operate on children that has incarcerated parents, but we operate on a child that's left behind with a holistic approach. We take a holistic approach when it comes to education, when it comes to job opportunities, when it comes to resources. And I'm very big on resources, mental health, and education. You cannot uh want or expect a child to go to school and perform to the best of their ability when they lack the basic resources.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

I love that you said mental health too, because when we think about resources and I want to I want your take on this, Michael, about mental health as a resource, because we think about like resources being backpacks and lunch. That plays a part. You know, and those are those are important. Yes. But I love that mental health has kind of entered the chat. Michael, what when tell me about the first time that you heard Hassan's story. What what did you think?

SPEAKER_02 9:06

So my first time hearing about Hassan's story, I was like, I can't even relate to that. But if I was him, I'd be proud of myself because like I moved on from the past and took a good start. And look where he's at now. Like, he's doing everything to help the community. I pray for him every night. I can't lie.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

You're gonna make him cry.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Yeah, and I asked God to like reward him for the things that he does. Yeah. Stuff like that. Because we need more people like him. Like, it'll be funny if like after everybody heard this podcast, and like even people in prison, if they heard the podcast, they got out and started doing the same thing. Like, that'd be amazing. And wimpy. Stuff like that. But like, when I go to mental health and like I think about it, it's awkward for me. Cause like my mental health is weird, and I can't really describe it because it's got things that I'm not supposed to see. But like, that's just my way of thinking about it. And thank you.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

So like That's okay. I mean you're 15, right? Yeah, fifth being 15's weird.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:11

Yeah, it's a weird, it's a weird place. How do you describe youth left behind to other kids that you meet who aren't a part of the program?

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Well, like, when I when I first got into youth left behind, I was sitting there, I was like, man, this is really boring. But then like, when I started like keep going and stuff like that, and I graduated and everything, I just got the hang of it. And I really liked it. And then I started doing better in school. I started getting straight A's and B's, stuff like that, no referrals.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Really? Why?

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Because like he inspired me to do the right thing. When I came there, I was like, I had referrals, I had got spendy, all that. But like then I just changed my will. So like, if he can do it, and he just got out of prison, then I can too. I know I can.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

So like, and that's the only thing I can't lie, I wasn't on probation, but like I got off of it because I just moved the way that he told me to do it. And it was much easier too.

SPEAKER_03 11:15

You know, there's some there's parents listening to this who may have 15-year-old boys also. And sometimes it's hard for parents to go, what do you mean? He needs inspiration from somebody else. I'll inspire him. I'll, you know, I'll whoop his butt. That'll inspire him. He should, you know, I think it's tempting for parents to think like, you know, back in my day, we didn't have mentors, we didn't have mental health support. What's the big deal? So, what was the difference for you? Why, why did it take you left behind, do you think, to help you make such a huge turnaround?

SPEAKER_02 11:53

I really think that the reason it took me that long, like until like I found him, was because my medicine. I don't think it was there like to help me. Cause they just kept medicating me and medicating me until the part like where I was kind of slow or like I was struggling at school. I couldn't like get the smart thing I needed. And then like when I started getting off of it, that's when it kept going down and down, and that's when I started doing better and stuff like that. And then I can actually focus more. And then like I'm telling you, if I was on my medicine right now, like all that, I wouldn't be able to like understand what he was telling me still. I just I don't know. I just don't think that medicine is the best way to do your mental health and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

I agree too, Mike. And the reason why I agree is because I'm not disputing medication, but we have to understand that we're dealing with a different generation of young people. And these young people, they don't want to hear from their mom or dad. They don't want to hear. They want you to be parents, they want you to be stern, they want you to love them. How many parents get up in the morning and actually tell their sons or tell their daughters, I love you, it's gonna be alright? Or you're gonna make it, we're gonna get through this. They need that outside source that lives and walk the talk that can inspire them, uplift them, and motivate them. And if that outside source is providing that type of mentorship to the child, it coincides with what the parent is already telling them, and they're more prone to do it. And that's why Youth Left Behind is so unique and able to reach a child or youth wherever they're at. Is it's just like you have to. We started our program as eight weeks and then take off of two weeks. But when I made a connection with young men like Michael and several others, it takes eight weeks to build the relationship. And once you build that relationship, then you can better understand the challenges that these young men are facing here in our county. And once they open up and and and and entrust in you is your duty to go out and put them on a path to success and find the resources. And most people think, well, he's hollering resources. This and resources is more than money. When I mean resources, I mean what do you do when you walk into a child's house that's your mentoring? They don't have sheets on their bed, they don't have a toothpaste, they don't have toothbrushes. You have to first hit it right where it's at at the root. So we're gonna provide the sheets on the bed, the pillow, toothpaste, toothbrush, we're gonna provide the backpack, we're gonna provide the school clothing, we're gonna provide the food, and then we're gonna work on the overall aspect of mentorship and structure. And I know for a fact that when you provide those things with a parent that's being a parent and not a friend, because this generation, these parents, they're too friendly with their children, first and foremost. You're a parent. I'm not telling you not to be friendly with them, but a 13, 14, 15, 16-year-old kid doesn't have the right to make the decision as to what they're going and not going to do. If you feel as though a program is designed, and I'm not talking about minds, overall, any pro any program that can better help your child do great, then you should be telling your child, you're going to that program. It's not, do you want to go? Or no, I don't want to go. That's not the way it is, and that's who we mess up at. And then they they they have the same friends as their children, some of them. Your friends, your children's friends shouldn't be your friends. They should look at you as a mother and respect you. And that's where we're that's that's where we're at. And anytime you have young people that has been left behind for whatever reason, whether it's an incarcerated parent, whether it's an absent father, whether it's a grandparent raising them, whether it's a mother that's addicted to drugs and the uncle had to get them, what whatever the case may be, you have a generation that's left behind. Then you have the the oldest of the siblings raising the younger ones. The grandmom is doing the best that she can, the auntie, the uncle, whatever the case may be. And before you know it, you have another generation that has come. And all that left unchecked leads to where we're at today: mental health, drug addiction, high school dropouts, juvenile delinquents. Because you have a generation that was left behind to another generation that was left behind, and now our children are acting out the way that they feel mentally with guns, with violence, with drugs, with promiscuous activities, with risky behaviors. They're looking for love. My phone number is open 24 hours a day. It's not a time that you can't call my phone because when they call, I want to be there. And if I can't help, I want to be able to reach out to the community and do a referral to provide whatever it is to put these young men, and I deal with some girls on a certain level, on the path to success. Because guess what I view them as? I view them as assets, not liabilities.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

I love that. You talk about support structure. What is what is the structure of a youth becoming involved with the organization? What does that look like? Can you paint a picture? Like a parent's listening to this right now, and they're like, you know what, Hassan, you're right. I want my my kid to be friends with Michael. Michael sounds really cool. He needs good influence. What's like walk me through the steps and what it looks like because I want to take it from the macro to the micro for the listener.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

First and foremost, you have to be willing to abide by the rules and regulations of Youth Left Behind. And our rules are simple. It's part of our mission statement to create a respectful and responsible community. If you ask yourself, is it respectful? Is it responsible? And you can answer yes, you can do it, you're in line. If you have to second guess yourself as to is it respectful or responsible, you shouldn't be doing it. It's unacceptable. So what we do is we bring them in, no matter what they've done, DJJ referral, messing up in school, messing up at home. And we for the first class, we sit down and let them write down their short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Once we do that, the next class, I take that paper and I forward it to my continuing care coordinator, who's uh on a volunteer basis, which is my wife, and she goes over it. Based upon what you put on the paper, we come up with a treatment plan for the stuff that you said you want to do, and we just put it before you and help you reach those goals.

SPEAKER_03 18:54

So it's student-led in a way.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yes. But not not so much as telling them what you put down, we're going to do. Kids these days don't want to be told what to do. Simple as that. So you have to just like refocus it. You have to figure out a way to get it in there to get it through their head, and that's our way of getting it through them. What you want to do? How can I empower you?

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Putting the agency back in their lap, basically.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

And they feel as though, yeah, I decided I want to do this and I and I did it.

SPEAKER_03 19:23

I saw on Facebook, on your Facebook group or Facebook page that you have regular meetings or something. Can you empowerment something? Can you talk about that?

SPEAKER_00 19:33

Yes. We meet every Tuesday night from 5 30, 6 o'clock to 8 30 year round now. And now that school is out, the boys called me when school got out. They was like, Mr. Hassan, we ain't got nothing to do. School is out. So we didn't start meeting early. So I start picking them up around about 12, Mike. Yes, yes, sir. Around about 12 o'clock, and they get to come to the clubhouse and they got video games there. And we have like a TV and we got the little karaoke machine and little games. And for the first three, four hours, they just sit there and just have fun. And then later on the day, we might throw some stuff on the grill or do something like that. And then we get the comprehensive aspect of it. And the comprehensive aspect of it is you want to allow children to be kids, but at the same time, you want to always keep the structure there. So they know that when that bell rings, it's time for group. And that's where I implement the structure aspect of it. And what you'll come to realize is that these kids just want to have somewhere where they can have fun and be safe. That's the main thing. And we work with kids all throughout Escambia County. From the north end of Escambia County to the south end, north end, east. And, you know, we have one seven-passenger van and we transport anywhere between 18 to 22 kids every Tuesday.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

And our van driver has to make three, sometimes four trips.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

Wow. You need another van.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

We're working on that now. You know, we just apply for a grant to Impact 100.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

We're prayerful that we'll get it. Right now, we're operating off of a grant through this Cameron County Children's Trust.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

And that's a big deal. Yeah. To get that. Do you work closely with the schools?

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Yes, I have about six or seven kids that's in Achieve Academy. I have Michael in Washington High, Pensacola High School. When school is in, we start our van transportation at two o'clock and we pick up at Pensacola High School first, and then we go to Michael's bus stop and pick him up. Then we come down to Warranton Prep Academy and pick up a few kids. And then we go to Achieve Academy and pick up some kids. He made he dropped that first load off. And then he goes to make it his other rounds because the school buses in some areas, they don't make it home till six o'clock. And then class starts at six. So it was like we had to regroup, revamp some things. So my driver was like, Hey man, we're just gonna start picking them up early.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

That's amazing. What's the application process like? I saw that there was a link on your website. Is any student eligible? You you mentioned mostly young men.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Yes. I work with young men ages nine through eighteen. It was twelve through seventeen, but I believe that we have to reach them a little bit sooner. So I'm starting getting the nine-year-olds so that way by the time they're 13, 14, they're not too far off or too far gone. They'll already be set in the way that they know that they should go. And our application process is easy. You just go online and it's a application. You click the link and you put your information in there. And it asks several questions about has the child been exposed to trauma? Are they DJJ impacted, underhouse, academic other performance? And I ask these questions so I can better service the child, the children that enroll in our program. And once that form is complete, you press the send button, it automatically goes to a Google, Google dot form, and my secretary gets it. And within 24 to 48 hours, you'll get a phone call.

SPEAKER_03 22:53

Wow. I also saw the uh Scambia County Sheriff's emblem on there. Oh my God. And I was like, hmm, wonder what that's like. What's your relationship like with them, Hassan?

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Wow. I can't be more grateful for the Escambia County Sheriff Department than Chip Simmons. Let me back up a little bit. My first charge had ever called for selling crack, Sheriff Chip Simmons arrested me.

SPEAKER_03 23:23

Himself.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yes. We've had encounters more than one occasion when he was a young Chip Sheriff Chip Simmons. And one thing that I can say about the sheriff, now that I'm older and I'm more mature, he had a job to do. I was breaking the law. He never disrespected me, never planted no drugs on me. When he caught me, it was always fair and square. When he caught me, because half the time I ran and he didn't catch me.

SPEAKER_03 23:52

Quick question. Does that point come up when y'all are like reminiscing together?

SPEAKER_00 23:57

We we've had some conversations and we and we shared it. But uh when I got when I came home from prison, I I looked and I seen that he had made sheriff. When I left the streets, he was Chip Simmons and he was with like the narcotics agent down to Pennsylvania Police Department. He had made sheriff, and I had this vision to start youth left behind. And I said to myself, I said, I wonder where he sat down and have a conversation with me. And I called him on the phone. I called his secretary, told her who I was, and I wanted to arrange a meet with the sheriff. And she told him, and when he heard my name, it rang a bell. Hassan Hills. He's in prison for life. This and that. He called me down. And I told him I was out, how I had got out, told him where I'm at and what I wanted to do. And from the side of his table at the sheriff's office, he said, Hassan Hills, I believe in you. And those words hit me more powerful than any words that I've ever heard since coming home from prison. Especially coming from law enforcement. Especially coming from the person that arrested you. Especially coming from somebody that you once couldn't stand, didn't like. I always respected him. I didn't like him because I wanted to get away with my stuff. And the sheriff has been very, the sheriff department and the sheriff foundation has been very, very, very, very, very, very grateful and and and giving to youth left behind. We didn't have a van. I was transporting kids in my car. And when the sheriff found out about it, he said, I want to build a bridge for the children of Rascambay County, not a barrier. And they bought us a van. Oh wow. Yes, he bought us a van. And when we got ready to start our program, we lacked funding. And he came on board and he provided the funding for us to start our initial group session for our program. And then other organizations came on board, and Walmart and Humana and Five and Below and The Butcher Shop and Scammer County Children's Trust believed in us and Sunshine, Sunshine Health. It's just been so rewarding to see the outpouring, support from the community for this small organization that's doing great things in our community.

SPEAKER_03 26:17

It's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Yes, it is. To me, it is. To me it is.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

It's so validating. And I I think when earlier when you're talking about parents and and their relationship with the kids, you know, I think it's all about the the validating what the parents want. And and it doesn't have to be all on them. You know, you were talking about community resources and how much that meant to you when you were out. And without it, you wouldn't have been able to succeed in the way that you have. And I think an organization like this provides that support for parents who mistakenly may believe that they have to do it all on their own. And maybe, you know, Michael, you as a teenager, you've have felt like, oh, I have to do this by myself, but now you know that you don't. But part of just that, I gotta make it today, I gotta make it today. Yes. I gotta make it this moment and the next moment, that that survival mindset can really put you in a tunnel.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Another thing you have to realize is that at this point in time where we're at in life, you have to be able to allow a child to express yourself. And a lot of parents don't understand that. The children be crying out for help or crying out for love or crying out for something. And you have to know the signs to know when your child is not being the same, where your child is at, who your child is hanging with, how they're doing in school, what are they eating, what are they reading, what are they watching on TV, what's what's going on, what are they doing on their phone? It's just certain aspects that we as parents lack. Grandparents too, but I do my due diligence with my grandchildren. I do random book bag checks. I just get up in the morning, take my grandkids to school every day or to the bus stop. And randomly, all right, I get them up 20 minutes early. All right, come on, let's go. When they get to the door, all right, drop your book bag. And I go through their book bags. I sure do. I go through them, I check them, make sure ain't nothing in supposed to be anybody passing no candy or no note or just just certain steps that we have to take for our children. Because at the end of the day, they're kids. And uh Mike can attest to that too. You know, Mike is uh Mike is somebody that I I invest a lot in. I see the potential in him. Uh I know that he wanted to do better, and he's always had the mindset that he's gonna do better than the past generation in his family. And so I I I talk to him and I inspire him and I motivate him. And at the same time, he he opens up and lets me know where he's at. And it ain't been easy. It ain't been easy. Mike ain't been peaches and cream the whole time, but he's not where he's used where he used to be. And that's the whole thing. Putting him on the path to success, seeing the evidence-based progress of a child. And I don't do it on my own. I have a team. I partner with different organizations, you know. I don't provide education as far as like schooling, but we're vamping out tutoring, hopefully this coming school year, that they can come get tutoring. But I refer out to AMI kids for my young youth that need schooling, you know. I refer out to the Blazer Academy with the Sheriff's Department, that eight-week program. See, I'm the continuing care aspect of mentorship. And we have so many other different organizations throughout Escambek County that provide six-week, eight-week, twelve-week programs. And you refer your children out to those to get the aspect of the things that's not at youth left behind. But as that village that we all talk about, we're all doing our part to build the quality of life of the children of Escambia County.

SPEAKER_03 29:58

I love that. Michael, I wanted to ask you, what do you want people to know about Youth Left Behind? What's important for them to know?

SPEAKER_02 30:09

That it can help your kids in school if they're struggling or if they're behind. And they got like tutoring sessions. This is a lady and it's Miss Christine. And she's really nice. I like her a lot. And we get along good. And she's the one who does tutoring. So if there's any kids out there and they knew they need tutoring, I think Miss Christine could do it for you. Also, I think if you have any like behavioral kids or like kids that are struggling, something like that, Hassan Group would be a good place for them. Because at first they may not like it. But like when you get the hang of it, you're gonna love it. I'm telling you, I promise you. So like, yeah, that's all I got to put out there. And thank you.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Absolutely. As we wrap up, how can people become involved? How can they kind of keep your organization top of mind, either for their kids, for their friends' kids, or maybe if they want to donate another van?

SPEAKER_00 31:08

Yes, we we we we could definitely use another van. If you're listening and you can donate another van. Oh my God, we would be so grateful for it. But Youth Left Behind, we have a Facebook page, that's Youth Left Behind Corp, or you can follow me on Facebook at Hassan Real. That's H-A-S-S-A-N-R-E-A-L. You can visit our website at www.youthleftbehind.org. And we're on all platforms of social media. And you can go on our website, it'll give you an inside peek of what we do, how we do it, and why we do it. And on that note, I want to leave the children out there or the parents that's listening to this method that we have with Youth Left Behind.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Our peer group empowerment pledge is. Alright, so the pledge is as long as I am in the world, I'll be the light of the world. I'll learn from my past mistakes and start to reach new horizons. I'm part of my fellow men creating to go a respectful and responsible community.

SPEAKER_03 32:04

Nicely done.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Respectful and responsible. They get drained out with that word. That's the those are my words. Respect and responsible. You can tie those two words in anything you do in life in any aspect. And if you stay in line with those two things, you're on a path to success. Respect and responsible.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Thank you. That's a wrap. Fantastic, guys. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.