No one knows a broken promise like De Juan Scott. People have come into his life, promised to be there for him, to help him be a young man, and then disappeared. As a 16-year-old, the Tyner Academy sophomore says that affects the way he acts.
“Teenagers? We have trust issues; peer pressure, which is not knowing who you are. We drink and smoke, but we’re coping with the anger and the loss,” he said. “We just want someone to be there to say, ‘I love you. I am here for you. I want to see you succeed.'”
De Juan said these issues lead to bad decisions, and when there’s no one to tell you to stop, you just keep making bad decisions. Besides, everyone is doing it.
The city of Chattanooga knows De Juan is not alone. Instead of letting young men like him fall through the cracks, the city hopes to pick them up and put them to work – all while learning about life, leadership and success.
De Juan, who lives in the Shepherd community, is one of 25 young men chosen from across the city to participate in CAP, the Chattanooga Ambassador Program, a group of students with potential for success but who may face obstacles at home.
For the next 48 weeks, De Juan and his fellow mentees will not only work with city officials and counselors, but in turn will actually mentor and tutor young students at Youth and Family Development centers across the city.
“The community asked for this, asked for an opportunity for our teens like this in our rec centers,” said Gary Rudolph, division manager and leader of the CAP program. “We as a city are going to pour into these kids, show them and coach them in what they need to be successful. And then they are going to give back to the community.”
Trips to industries in the area, meetings with different departments in the city – learning what makes this city move – and making an investment in these teenagers’ lives will help them transition into adulthood and become leaders, he added.
De Juan’s mother Dee Green said as a parent, all she wants is for her son to succeed.
“It has just been such a long, long road. People have given up on him. So many people have come into his life and then leave,” she said. “I just know he has so much potential. He just needs an opportunity and needs to seize it.”
De Juan hopes to go to Morehouse College when he graduates, but his mom knows he needs help getting there.
“You know it takes a village to raise a child,” she said. “And that’s what I hope this will be for him. I have seen him struggle with a lot, and I hope he comes away from it as a leader.”
De Juan said he thinks his generation is lacking a true and understanding support system.
“You just see it so much, where people have missing pieces of their lives, like their fathers. Girls … they find love somewhere else, and guys turn to gangs,” De Juan said. “We’ve got to find a way to keep the next generation from following us and falling into this. I think I can help in this program.”