TEP Supervisor Mike Uses his Personal Journey to Relate to the Youth he Mentors
My name is Mike Anderson, and I am a Training for Employment Supervisor at COMPASS Youth Collaborative. I want to tell you a little about myself, my work at COMPASS, and the youth I work with.
I am a proud Hartford native, a graduate of Weaver High School, and the first in my family to go to college. But my path wasn’t easy. I lost a brother to gun violence when I was 11. I can count over 20 friends I have lost to gun violence. I have friends who are doing life in prison.
I saw firsthand how violence affected my community.
But I had sports. I earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Washington and went on to play in the NBA G League. I was privileged to travel the world and play basketball in China, Australia, Germany, and England. I had experiences I never imagined were possible as a young boy growing up in Hartford.
I always knew I wanted to come back to Hartford, and I always knew I wanted to work with youth. I wanted to be the person I wish I had in my life after my brother was killed. I wanted to be the person I wish my friends had.
I wasn’t sure how it would all come together, but I was sure it would happen.
COMPASS gave me that opportunity.
COMPASS’s Training for Employment Program (TEP) is different from most work training programs. Our program is a safe place where youth can fail, learn from their failures, and grow.
As a TEP Supervisor, I work alongside my youth. I’m not just supervising them; I’m modeling for them. I show them that every job is important, from stocking shelves to breaking down boxes. I want them to develop good work habits and a strong work ethic.
Let me tell you about Tyquan, one of the youth in the program. I started working with Tyquan last year, and I see a massive difference between his first day of work and where he is now.
When Tyquan first started in TEP, he was living with trauma; he was unhoused and couch-surfing from one friend’s house to another every night.
When you aren’t sure where you are going to sleep at night, it’s hard to focus during the day. Tyquan didn’t care about his future, so he made poor decisions. But I understood that and was patient with him.
COMPASS worked to stabilize Tyquan’s living situation. As that became more stable, he became more open to communicating with me. We began to build a trusting relationship where we could talk about his thoughts, emotions, and actions and how they are connected.
We set goals and made a plan. It wasn’t a straight line. There were days Tyquan was late to work. But at COMPASS, we don’t do “3 strikes, you’re out”. We work through issues and use them as teaching opportunities.
Today, Tyquan works full-time at a local grocery store. He transferred the skills he learned at TEP to a full-time job with benefits. In eight months, Tyquan went couch surfing to his own apartment.
I’m really proud of the work Tyquan and I did together. I am proud of the work all of the youth in our Training for Employment Program do. But we couldn’t do this work without you.
Please consider a donation to COMPASS. Help us take more youth like Tyquan from trauma to trusting relationships. From couch surfing to independence
It’s easy to donate; use the QR code to the right or click the link below.
Thank your time, and for caring about kids like Tyquan.
Mike Anderson
Training for Employment Supervisor
