Dr. Juan Gonzalez makes a connection between LeBron James of basketball fame and the classical character of Achilles while talking with young men about the importance of stories Wednesday at the Shepherd Recreation Center. A national program called Boyz Inc. is being piloted in Chattanooga and is geared toward giving boys and young men positive role models.GET INVOLVEDTo volunteer or to learn how to start your own Boys Inc. site, contact Spencer McCall at 757-0665.
The after-school crowd at Shepherd Community Center is a noisy one. Young kids and teenagers run up and down the hallways as basketballs thump and sneakers screech in the gym.
But tucked in a classroom, about six boys huddle on a couch and chairs, quietly listening to a neurosurgeon explain his craft.
The boys, mostly from Tyner Middle Academy, listen intently as Juan Gonzalez, a first-generation American, tells the boys about his immigration from Mexico and how he became a doctor.
They’re some of the first to get involved in a new after-school program designed exclusively for young boys and teens called Boyz Inc. It’s aimed at providing boys with positive role models and support as well as giving them a safe haven in the late afternoon and early evening — considered the most dangerous time of day for youth because they often go unsupervised.