By Dixie Ann Black
As we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and all he dreamt of, the continued social economic disparities in our communities of color and among our youth cannot be ignored.
Kirk Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of Handy Inc., a local non-profit organization that is “helping advance and nurture the development of youth” in Broward County. It is a tall order as a youth in need of nurturing indicates a larger family unit also in need of assistance.
Brown has firsthand experience of socioeconomic disparities. When he was in high school, a teacher asked him, “What do you want to be when you are 25 years old?”
“Alive.” He answered.
His answer had reflected his socioeconomic reality. “I gave that answer because I didn’t know anyone in my neighborhood who had lived past twenty-five. All the young people in my neighborhood had either died or gone to jail by that age.”
As a new Jamaican immigrant to South Florida in the early 1990’s, he was viewing life from the confines of his daily reality. Brown summed up his initial mindset, “Poverty has a way of making you feel like you’re not smart. We quantify our existence based on the things we have. So, when we don’t have, we assume we’re not smart.”
This mindset can act as a potential snowball that can turn into a wrecking ball in the lives of youth. Without the power of a dream and the support necessary to fulfill it, many economically disadvantaged youths slip through the cracks of equality, opportunity and justice.
Brown’s mother cleaned houses and dropped her employers’ children off to attend classes at Florida Atlantic University. Surely college was not for him, the son of the maid! Fortunately, that teacher at Blanche Ely High School saw potential in Brown and encouraged him to go to college by offering him a new way of thinking.
“America will pay you to go to college.” She had told him. All Brown had to do was maintain a high enough GPA and the doors of higher learning would open; she explained. And open they did. Soon Brown found himself with a scholarship that allowed him to become a first-generation college student at FAU, on equal footings with his wealthier peers.
He was excelling academically and studying for law school when socioeconomic realities around him intruded once more. This time it was in the form of a homeless youth at the intersection of Atlantic and Powerline Road. Brown recalls taking the kid to McDonalds where he bought him a meal. The young man was grateful, but Brown knew the meal was at best a Band-Aid. “How do I fix that?” He wondered. He went to work seeking answers. Maybe he was encountering what Dr. King called,
“The fierce urgency of Now”.
His inquiries led him to the Department of Children and Families and though still in his studies for law school, he applied to DCF and found at last, what he defines as his “mission moment.” Brown recalls taking a child in need to Handy, which functioned as a clothing bank in the early days. The child had hoped to get a pair of ‘name brand’ shoes but none could be found on the shelves. Brown recalls the employee of Handy walking up to them and offering the youth a pair of Nikes. The gesture was not lost on Brown, he had noticed that the employee had been wearing the same Nikes when they walked into the store and was now wearing a pair of ordinary tennis shoes as he offered the youth his shoes. That did it. Law school faded in the rear-view mirror and Brown fell, heart first, into what he describes as “a beautiful work”.
“You’re not going to get rich doing this job. So, you might as well get spiritually wealthy,” he cautions.
It has been twenty-eight years since Kirk Brown first became a social worker, moving from case management for kids aging out of foster care, to teaching independent living skills and prevention of homelessness. He grew from a staff of one at Handy, serving twenty-eight children, “The First 28”, as he developed a suite of services to meet the complex needs of the children. Brown explained that he had to start customizing the services to match the clientele as the children’s needs grew from those aging out of foster care, to those living with relatives and those who were simply homeless.
Eventually, Brown took a five-year break from Handy to work in Independent Living and Workforce in Florida’s capital. In 2018 Handy asked him to return as the Chief Executive Officer.
Handy now boasts a staff of forty-seven, eighty percent of whom bring “lived experience” to the table. This means they were in crises similar to their clients at some time in their lives. Brown explains the authenticity this adds to the services as “real recognizes real”. Handy provides fifty-seven individual services and serves five hundred and twenty youth per year. However, since a child in crisis often means an entire family in crisis, Handy ends up serving twelve hundred individuals each year. The deep work includes mental health services, educational transition, workforce development, homeless crises and youth development, along with group services that focus on family members.
As the CEO of Handy, Brown now has the benefit of seeing the power of the organization through the eyes of others. “Poverty has a way of talking you out of your future,” he explains. A young man Handy has guided from homelessness to a place to live and a scholarship to attend Broward College called on the first day of school saying he was not going to attend the classes. Handy’s Director of Education, who had been guiding the young man, was at his door almost before he could hang up the phone. She made it clear quitting was not an option as she escorted him to and from his class. He is pleased to report that he has since finished his first semester with a 3.8 grade point average.
Work like this requires strong support. Handy has twenty-five dedicated board members. It receives 60 percent of its funds through county funds and foundations like the Children’s Services Council of Broward, Moss Foundation, Jim Moran foundation, Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, along with CareerSource Broward and the Unity Way. Twenty percent comes from events. There are alumni and faithful individual donors, along with volunteers and fifty-three corporate partners and a direct strategic alliance with H.O.M.E.S. Inc.
Handy is pushing forward with aviation, construction, manufacturing partners and Tech Hubs as part of workforce development as they deepen the exposure they offer to the youth. As Kirk Brown reflects on how Handy’s mission mirrors Dr. King’s dream, he points out that Handy battles issues that affect our children and our community. And that “ninety-five percent of the children that walk through Handy’s doors are Black”. Handy uses education and workforce development as a social justice equation to help families learn and earn. “If you think about it, we are literally fulfilling the dream and goal of people who marched and died.” Brown concludes “In order to hold yourself to a standard of excellence you must be able to learn and earn. Check out Handy online at Handyinc.org. And please, feel free to give time, talent, and treasure to the organization. All three are welcome.”
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