Boston City TV, MA Jobs and Community Service, 24 May 2017

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From YouTube: More Than Words Breakfast 2017

Description

In East Boston, More than Words, a nonprofit organization that empowers young adults who are in foster care, the court system, homeless, or not in school by giving them a job managing a bookstore, holds its third annual breakfast. Mayor Walsh listens to two stories from More than Words alumni who are moving on to the next chapter of their lives.

A

Good morning,.

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Kasia Facebook new living. That means the roster hats on. Are you all away? I can't hear ya good morning, I.

A

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Fedora I am 18 years. Old. I am very excited to be a host this morning. This is going to be much more than breakfast before we get started. If you need the restroom, there is two in the back and there is one up front. Hopefully we won't need it, but there is an emergency exit by the kitchen. Today we are going to share with you about modern words. You will hear the important voices of you here and we're grateful to have the Honorable mayor wash join us for this event and conversation.

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We are honored by the many people who have helped us make this event possible. If you are in the host comedy, please raise your hand.

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We want to give a special shout-out to Melissa McDonald from Liberty Mutual and said tie with national development for the elite sponsorship and support of modern words. In this event,.

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So start placing attention to the screens to get a short overview of modern words that was recently on the news.

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It's a story too many kids know all too well born into poverty, feeling, like their life, is already written out for them. But these days our local book business is aiming to rewrite those endings. Stephanie Wyden introduces us to tonight's greater postponement in.

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The right hands old books yield new volume sold online and in two local stores. Last year, the team here at nor the words method, 1 million dollars, but money isn't why founder and former teacher Jodi Rosenbaum got into the book. Business I was pretty pissed off the way she saw too many efforts to get young people on the right track or focused on the wrong approach. I was.

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Trying to fix what's missing or what's broken, what's wrong, we're talking about young people is an immense amount of potential and we never talked that at part of the solution. Thirteen.

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Years ago she started with a handful of ph boys in a cramped, Cambridge office. I heard.

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A lot of pushback and questioning about whether you could really take those most challenged and vulnerable young people figure out how to run a business with them today.

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More than words has locations at Waltham, and here in Boston, two and a half million books a year are donated, then sorted processed and sold by people like 21 year old RJ.

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He has to meet both business and personal goals. Everything from daily sales quarters to showing up for his community college classes as.

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Soon, as I came to more than words, I was able to, you know, make sure I got the class pretty much I read a and you know bring my my GPA, my GPA up to like a B in.

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Eight months he's worked his way up from trainee to team leader I.

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Never really saw myself that way at any.

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Given time 250 young people are part of me more than words program, it's a about 6 to 12 months and if in two years, almost all or either going to school, working or.

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Both thank you for shopping. Our house would like to have a nice day, Nicole.

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Has a job than apartment and something she never imagined growing up as a foster kid, a sense of possibility.

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I didn't know that I was going to be able to not be supported by government. You know government benefits so in other words, we have a question here. What is the question before all questions? What do you want to get to in life? What's your answer? My answer is I honestly, one of these advocate for other youth and.

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That's the real value with people we have helped develop through.

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This Hobbit forming experience this idea that I am somebody who does.

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Something with my life in the right hands: they transform lives, Stephanie, Leyden, WGBH news. If.

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You're interested in donating your books to more than words, is information on our website. Wgbh news, org and if you know someone making a difference in the community, nominate them to be our next greater. Both Stoney email, us at Greater, Boston org and tell us their story.

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There is more to a person than what you see. I am anxious to share my story with you, but I know it is important for you to be aware. These stories are what helped us connect us to each other. More deeply. I grew up in Corinth Haiti with my mom and then Dominican Republic was my aunt, and uncle I had little contact with my dad.

B

My mom and I never had much of a relationship. I've never felt good enough for her and felt pulled out a lot. I don't have many memories playing with other kids. When I was 14, my mom met a Haitian American man and got married. We moved to New Jersey with him and his daughter who, at the time, was 11 when I moved here.

B

I didn't know any English, but I was excited to be here to be together as a family and to have someone I thought was like my father one night, my step dad took me to a parking lot in his car. Everything changed that night I've even understand that was rape. I had heard us to not let strangers touch me, but this was family.

B

He made me swear on the Bible, but I will never tell until I died that night I cried in my culture. Grown-Ups are always right. Adding a question. I did exactly what he said. I felt so dirty I tried to believe it wasn't a bad thing. I did.

B

It didn't stop that night. It went on for two years. I said nothing because I thought I was protecting my family. Many time he was said. Why are you crying I? Do this to my daughter all the time and she doesn't cry during this time my mom had their baby VCS and the police came to her home after my sister's school read about it in her journal, I lied I had threat. He had threatened my life. He also promised it wouldn't happen again. I also saw this new baby.

B

Only a few months old and I didn't want her to grow up without a father like I did I felt ashamed as I deserved. It UCS kept the case open, but believe my life I finally told my mom and she said family's family. Does it not happen? You just need to forgive him after a few months, we'll move to Boston to start over again, but the true is is to get away from the case in New, Jersey were homeless, living at a friend house.

B

My stepsister called to counsel at school and DCF, get involve again. I couldn't lie anymore, I broke down and spoke about what happened. All three of us will move in a foster home. I was freaking out asking myself of what would happen to me and my sisters. My stepsister was moved under the foster home because she was so traumatized. The baby was returned to my mom. I have spent the last two years in a foster home I completed high school last year and I didn't really know what I wanted to do.

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That is when I was referred to more than words by my foster parents when I first came for my youth or I thought. I got an amazing vintage, a bookstore, the unique part to the space inspired me to want to work here. I, remember interviewing with Sheila my youth development manager, I laugh when I'm nervous and by laughing I made her laugh. I had a sick kids of us better training in November Sheila help me set SMART goals, get my bank account and applied for colleges, she's someone who listens to me.

B

One therapy is not enough: pre scanning pre-sorting receiving shipping. Those are not the things that I thought I would be doing. Shipping was the hardest to me, especially if a book is for another country, public speaking, she and I did not like speaking in front of people, but I have realized. It is okay to being comfortable when you're growing a positive way. In the only seven months here, I have learned how really important I can be in people's lives. Modern words became more than a job. To me. It became my family.

B

They care about my problems and listen to me. School had always been my escape from the time when I was reading Haiti when I was being raping. New Jersey by my stepdad and I was put in foster care. School was my escape. Nobody at school knew what was going on in my private life. My questions knew what modern word has been to go to college and one in more than VCS helped me to get my applications out. I was recently accepted to Bridgewater, State and I will be going in the fall and living on campus.

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I'm, a study, physics or maybe philosophy may be able field position, but I will always be an artist. There are many others here who have struggle like me and are trying to leave their lives forward. Modern world is a community that motivates me to speak my truth and tell my story. When you tell people you want foster care, people think you did something wrong, but it is never a kid's fault to be leaf. Yet at modern words, you have the opportunity to realize how powerful you are.

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I was supposed to do things that I didn't know. I could do like talking to you. Okay. Yesterday.

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I'll travel, the long and painful journey in eighteen years and I know there is much more ahead of me, but I feel ready to embrace it fully. Thank you for listening to my story. I hope you connect us together, which is something with it more of this world this. It is now my pleasure to introduce you to Jodi our founder and CEO.

E

Thank You Fedora, you are strength, poise, grace and bravery. What you experienced is unfathomable to many in this room. Yet we know the statistics that by the age of 18 one and five girls and one in 20 boys experienced sexual abuse that statistic cuts across all race, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. If 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys was plagued with some horrifying disease that would affect their well-being potentially for the rest of their lives, we would call it an epidemic. We would be talking about it.

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Yet this insidious culprit is rarely acknowledged, primarily because we don't know how or want to talk about it. I am one in five.

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Your your story is an inspiration to me and for many others and I stand in solidarity with you here today. Fedora.

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Part of my story was on that video, starting more than words and part of my story. It links me with Fedora story as adults as a CEO as staff at volunteers, donors, partners board members guests mayor's here today. It is inevitable that we want to help and empower the young people at more than words we want to do.

E

We want to give provide something to lift them up and help them find their way forward, and we absolutely should they need and they deserve that from us, but as we move through today and you reflect on Fedora story- and you hear the stories of young people at your table and of the stories of our panel and our mayor, I want you to think about looking for linkages.

E

If you choose to I, think many to easily assume that we are so very different from the ones who need to be helped from the youth who have experienced so much pain, so much loss and who faced so many barriers. There are some really big differences between our young people at more than words and all of you here today or most of you here today, but perhaps, and very small or potentially very big ways.

E

There are these invisible threads that are in our stories that link us to each other, transcending all the apparent differences, perhaps in some ways it's easier for us to focus on the differences, especially if it means that we get to be the helpers. But today I'm going to ask all of you to just be a little bit vulnerable and to look for the elements of the stories that bind us together.

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What would it mean if we all walked out of here today, not just feeling like we learned and heard and felt and supported, but that we connected and that we saw the self and the other get a little bit closer? So it's in that spirit, I'm going to get.

A

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My soapbox and put on the hard hat, because I'm here today to share with you about where we are headed together. We are digging in getting busy creating transforming and building our way forward linked with many of you, we are changing the game after starting more than words in waltham in 2004 and replicating here in 2011 in Boston, we were quickly busting at the seams. We began thinking about how we could serve more youth grow. Our businesses raise our brand awareness and deepen our impact in the field.

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Despite all the high-end developments around us, our landlord agreed for more than words to expand and to take over the entire first floor of this building Stuart. We are profoundly grateful. This.

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This is what it looks like to live your life and run your business in a way that changes the world. You are part of the solution, part of the movements, so we had some big ideas about what we could do. With this first floor, space to grow our businesses create more jobs and test and learn with some new social enterprises, but who would invest in these crazy ideas?

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Liberty Mutual? They believed in our vision, and they gave us a planning grant to drill down our vision, and once we had a plan, they kicked off our campaign to make this plan a reality with an incredible million dollar lead investment. Liberty Mutual is here today it's an honor to develop the story together. This is what it looks like to live your life and run your business in a way that changes the world. You are part of the solution.

E

You are part of the movement the campaign has taken off and we've seen extraordinary generosity from so many individuals, corporations and foundations, many of whom are here today, including the Smith Family Foundation, that also stepped up with an incredible. Secondly, an investment of a million dollars, so we have some bold goals to grow. Our youth served by sixty percent and our social enterprise earned revenue by seventy five percent. We're talking about ramping up to nearly four million dollars in gross sales from our young people's businesses. How will we do this?

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We're going to be integrating our warehouse into this first floor, space to stage sort and scan our books, we're going to grow sourcing, our books from two and a half million donated books to four million, and that means more use out on trucks, picking up books and engaging with the world. We will grow our online operation from shipping out about 600 orders a day all over the world to nearly 1,000, and we will create a vibrant first floor retail space for all of you to shop in.

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We also will integrate within there some social enterprise marketplace, which means we'll be sourcing goods from other nonprofits to sell, think jewelry, art candles, and we also want to test and learn with new businesses. We have will have a unique flexible event, space and micro cinema within the bookstore that will offer use many new customer service, project management and technical skills. Think independent film night, jazz night, author and speaker series and many opportunities for corporations and individuals to rent this space.

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The first floor will be a bridge, the missing middle, a resource and amenity for everyone in the neighborhood and also very relevant to the deepest pockets, pockets of need among us, with books and youth epicenter strengthening critical linkages for us all. So how does this vision all fit together in this space? You ask: well it's only through extraordinary linkages with others who can help us, take this vision and figure out how it can be realized. Ted, Ty and National Development immediately stepped up with pro bono project management.

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National Development is working alongside our incredibly talented architects from Peter, Rose and partners who are helping to make this a reality in some of the slides you may have seen earlier in the floor plans. This is what it looks like to live your life and run your business in a way that changes the world. You are part of the solution, you're part of the movement, and this type of endeavor does not happen without passionate persistent people who are comfortable being uncomfortable.

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Our board, under the leadership of Elizabeth March, has put on their seatbelts and are helping lead more than words into unchartered and game-changing territories and our staff. You give so much of yourself every day to the youth that we have an honor to work with it begins and it ends with the way you respect champions and help them be accountable to a higher bar than the rest of society will set for them to our board staff and volunteers.

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This is what it looks like to live your life and run our business in a way that changes the world. You are part of the solution. You are part of our movements together linked with so many of you in this room. We will create a bellwether, a beacon, a two-floor hub of social enterprise that will inspire and trance form or use the fields and the community. This is the next chapter of our story with cherished links to so many of you.

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Instead of the same old story about remediation and rehabilitation, this one's going to be about revenue generation and human transformation. Thank you all for being here today. It is now my incredible.

A

E

Engage Mayor, Walsh, Fernando and fedora in further conversation.

E

So we've had the privilege of hearing Fedora story and then a little bit we'll hear the mayor story, but I want to start our panel off by asking Fernando, who is incredible: young men from our website to share his story with you this morning to take our panel off.

H

Hi, my name is Fernando I'm, 18 years old, I'm missing a partner more than where my story is one in a million there's. So many other ways this could have gone, could have been dead. I was lucky by the age of 14 I. Think I had tried to kill myself 15 times. I fought pretty hard.

H

My whole life to get to this moment in time where I could tell you my story and be proud of it and speak here before you as a transgender Hispanic man, I was born in Queens, New, York and I lived on and off with my mother, my mother battled depression and severe prescription drug addiction, sometimes like catatonic I bounced a lot to stay with my grandparents around my father was an alcoholic while I was with him and his wife I was physically and sexually abused.

H

I remember one time when my mom was so sick I had no choice but to call the police I was little and I didn't know what to do. The police removed me from my home and I wound up living in Massachusetts with my great aunt and uncle. They became my legal guardians, they were much older and they tried to take care of me. There was so much karma that I was hospitalized at 88 for the first time from age. 8 on I was in programs in hospital.

H

Until now, at age, 18 I became part of the DMH system, that is, the Department of Mental Health I've, been diagnosed with PTSD anxiety and depression, I've been in over nine hospitals and residential programs within the last ten years. On top of all that, I had been through, I was having an inner battle on my gender, since I was little, I knew I was dying, not a girl.

H

My mother would tell me, would make me wear a dress and I hated wearing dresses when she was when she was sleeping, which was a lot I used to dress up like a blur, and she got rid of all my boys. Wasn't clothing growing up in programs by age, 14 I knew I wanted to be a guy, and more people saw me as one at the age of 14 I changed my name from Anais to Fernando and began to identify solely as a man.

H

I was so excited because no long no longer had to stay in the girls program at age, 15 I will to walk damn house where I have been ever since it is a specialized group home for LGBTQ. For those of you who don't know that means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer I feel simple, because I can be myself there. I heard about more than where to my group, home I knew it was a bookstore and was just looking for money. I got a tour from a youth partner and I thought.

H

Oh my god, it gave me the chills. It was amazing how friendly and passionate everyone was at. First I was really shy on more than words and didn't know. I would be accepted.

H

It became so much more than a job. It was like a family I've gone a lot as a leader, I've learned to work as a team and get both positive and constructive feedback when I lead shifts I'll make sure everyone feels comfortable, has fun and that we hit our business goals. Sometimes I'll put on the music inside singing Stephen. Is my a development manager and has helped me stay on track. When I need motivation, he is a spanic male who's, part of the LGBT community.

H

He is someone I really can look and talk to one of the most powerful experiences. I had the more than words going with other youth to the young men of color confidence, I felt so excited not just to be seen as a man, but a man of color I, the teacher. It says why I'm Oh see. That's me. A young man of color I had been on more than words for a year and will graduate next month, I'm, currently leaning toward becoming an EMT moving to the graduate program.

H

It would be hard for me, but it is the true test of my growth, I love customer service, I'm, finalizing my resume and I plan to apply to the Apple store as a graduate at more than words I know, I will meet with Ryan the educational employment manager plan to find the right, EMT question I plan to be back often helping to train new youth I'm a mobile model for so many others now and want to want people to.

H

Remember me as a great senior partner I, don't have a real community, real skills and sense of my future as a young man of color. Thank you. Listen to my story.

E

Mayor Walsh stories connect us in ways that are powerful and memorable about a year ago. You were here, and you shared your story with the young people at more than words, and we would be honored if you would be willing to share your story as well with us this morning. Thank.

I

You very much I, don't know if I can, my god, these two speakers actually are incredible. You know Fedora format, Fernando. Thank you. I just wrote down a few words about these two. Both great public speakers I've been talking publicly for 20 years now, and it takes a long time to kind of be able to tell you a story, grab the audience and just keep moving forward, and both of you have done that. So it's incredible leaders inspirational two words that popped in my head and I.

I

Think everyone in this room said about being able to not only talk about what you went through, but we have overcome and how you moving forward. Is people and I want to congratulate both of you power of example. I have a young woman in my office who just who's just identifying now as a woman, while growing up as a young boy, her whole life and realizing she came to us and said she's part of our scheduling, team and understanding the struggles and seeing her face today.

I

How proud she is and happy she is by being comfortable with the decision decision she's made, but being supported by her peers. So again, another great one, courageous, you know I just can't make sure, is nothing I mean I'm. You know, thank you both and be proud of. What you did. This organization is an incredible organization. Most of you know it actually Ted had an event for me, the other day, Ted, tired, eventually the other day across street, and we talked about this organization at that event.

I

I had the chance to come in here and talk to young people, I. Think there's some young people form other words here and I. Just talked about my story as an alcoholic, and you know growing up in a house that certainly I didn't have I, didn't have obstacles that that fedora or Fernando did but I had challenges in my own different ways and I think anyone that that that realizes or goes to recovery or for anything understand that there's the steps of recovering and when I, when I finally wanted to treatment for alcoholism.

I

It's the first step, but after that there's wreckage, you have to you have to fix, there's the path that you have to work on: it's not simply putting down the drink or the drug, it's putting down the drink on the drive and then not picking up a drink or a drug again, but also dealing with some of what's happened in the past, and some of that isn't pretty, and that's what any type of challenge these two strong young people on either side of me in order to move forward.

I

They also have to deal with the past and I think that this organization that we here today I want to thank the big donors who gave the money to this organization. I want ain't. The owner of this building. I want to thank the other folks who, in here, who might have written the check for $500 I want to thank all of you opportunities. This is an incredible program when I walked in here to this program. I saw, but they said today, leaders inspirational power example.

I

Courage, I saw it in a lot of a lot of the young people worked in this building, I watched them as they scanned in the books. I watch them as they shorted the books. I watch them as they stocked the shelves and we went right around the building, and so we came to this last part we had over here we had a conversation about about my my my struggles in life and we want to young people struggles in life and I.

I

Think that you know one thing, I can say and I can say it's about these two people to my right and left because of their struggles and because of your challenges, you will be stronger because of it. You will be strong. The leaders you'll be able to understand and help people in society and help people move forward, and that's what this program is all about. So again, I want to thank you both for sharing a story.

I

I want to thank you all for being, ideally getting to my story that much it wasn't pretty drank drank too much blacked out got oblivious in the beginning of drinking. It was fun. The end of drinking it was drinking just just to kind of numb the feelings hit rock bottom or what my rock bottom is one to detox, not to not to get sober one to detox two to get the heat off me.

I

Everyone mad at me for my drinking and blacking out and when I got out of detox when I got to detox the first night I was there commitment came in commitment.

I

Is a group of people come in to speak about their experience, strength and hope and recovery just like today, one guy spoke hooked me again: I would even go to detox to stop drinking I went to detox to to get the heat off me and I realize it was something here and from that day April 30th April, 23rd, 90 95, when I strength, April 30th is my first night in detox. I waited a week because I was a longer story and and I got hooked when I guess I got hooked, something grabbed me and I.

I

You know: I called the grace of God into my life and from that day to this, my life span on incredible journey. Of my career and what I've done it doesn't mean, I haven't had struggles, it doesn't mean I haven't had challenges, it doesn't mean I, haven't disappointed. People, people haven't disappointed me all it means is I have a different way of living. My life a day at a time and that's what.

E

So we've now heard all three of our panelists stories and there's clearly a theme of some pretty intense internal struggle, self-judgment even hatred at times and I. Wonder if each of you could just say a few words about what you've learned from that struggle and what words of advice you might have for somebody else who was going through their own struggle.

A

B

I've learned about my struggle is in the middle of the struggle. You feel like you're, the only one, but you aren't alone, there's people who are ready to leave sense to you and help you it's not always waiting above the light at the end of the tunnel. You have to be able to make that decision for yourself and find the light and light it up and that's where you're going to walk through the tunnel and make it at the end.

B

I want to give advice to everybody here who has trouble that don't move yourself because you're the only person that you're gonna spend the rest of your life with.

E

A

E

H

You may have heard once you hit rock bottom there's no place to go, but up since I've been at the bottom, I got up and someone was it a smile, say hello, sit with me, I learned that it starts with just one person to work. Your way out of it. I would tell others that I know it sounds cliche, but it does get better just that it is okay to find that one person to talk to every time. You are struggling. Look at that! Look for that one person. Oh.

I

I think it's completely unfair that I'm between these two. So that's a struggle for me right now. You know and I think both sets of advice are important. That I also think that trying to live your life a day at a time.

I

You don't have to be in recovery to do that and realizing, and that's for anyone in this room, if you, if you are struggling at that particular moment, just get through that moment, it will pass and that you know it'll pass so I think it's important for us to realize is for me when I think about when I think about struggles, I think about other people's stories and I. Think about first of all, I am in a pretty good space and I.

I

Don't have it that bad and I try to just get through the moment to the next piece and knowing that it will get better. It's like fermentis, that's not a cliche. It will just going to get back. It's just a matter of letting yourself get there and kind of live it. If you can't, with the data-type little moment at a time.

E

So my next question, specifically for fedora and Fernando I, suspect, there's a lot of people in the room who have been pretty affected by hearing your stories and understanding what you've endured and I wonder. If you can share with the adults and the people who are the part of the systems and the helpers well-intentioned helpers. What you would want them to know about how to best support young people when they are going through and intense struggle.

H

Listen to you listen to what they are actually going through, don't assume something! It can sometimes be awkward for adults to talk to LGBTQ youth. Let's remember it's actually 10 times harder for us. If you are not sure how to have that conversation, don't be afraid to say that and say: I, don't know what you are going to explain it to me. Sometimes it isn't that someone doesn't agree, but they just don't understand telling you want to understand. You want to know what words to use. Keep it real, keep it 100, don't forget to listen.

H

um You may think you're listening but I mean really listen and be consistent in my life.

D

B

Mean I think sometimes I. Don't think that all the help needs to come from them. It is easy to say the words, but I want adults to give us more freedom to have our of the moments. Sometimes the growth and learning needs to come from us. It is how we see the power within and use it to grow, but if adult aren't giving us the space because they're trying to control so much, even if it is trying to help it just doesn't work that way.

B

E

You, let's talk about work for a minute and the power of work and Mayor.

E

We know that your first job was at Dunkin Donuts and for many of the young people here this is their first job and there's something about a job right and we, we often say here more than words that work works and it's not just because it's a job, but it's a vehicle right for human and personal transformation and I wonder if each of you could speak a little bit about why work word and knowing that we're expanding and we're creating more jobs for so many more young people.

E

What you would say to these young people about why a job and an opportunity at more than words, is something that really matters. You can start with you mayor all.

I

Right, well, um you know I think one one thing and it cools here: job first jobs are important to understand leadership, skills. I, think you understand the importance of what money actually is, and we know how much how hard it is to earn it and how quick it is to spend it and realizing. After your first check you gotta slow down a little bit. I think it also helps you. If you get the right first shot understand. Responsibility allows you to be not necessary, a leader but allows you to.

I

You know just understand the importance of being part of society, something bigger, I, think my first job. What happened after my first job I worked at Dunkin Donuts in two square. I was the finisher I worked there for four good, while and I loved working right off the bat I love kind of self that independence of being able to earn my own money. I was a paperboy before that, and that wasn't really the same thing.

I

But it was like you got a check every week and really really gave me the discipline to understand the importance of working so much so that working became more important to me to school. Well, I wanted to work and I didn't want to be in school and went to work jumped so much and I think that that ability it's something like more than words when I watch this going on you're watching young people come in here and and also find a skill that you might not.

I

You might realize that what you want to do in life is something completely different. What you're doing at that moment? So my first job was at Dunkin Donuts, my second job. My second real job was that a stationary store and I fell in love with that business because it was excited to start person and then I ended up working as a salesperson and understanding all the different pieces of office supplies and people might laugh about that. Today. I love office, supply stores, I'm crazy.

I

You know and I think that it opened up a whole whole potential opportunity for me to go as in a career that I wasn't thinking of as a younger child. I grew up in a family, my father's, a construction worker and his you know our family's all construction work outside and and I just kind of opened up the doors me looking all different lengths.

D

B

Will say the work work because um it took up the best in you like the thing that you don't think you have you get it there, because you realizing that these people are trusting you to run a business and focusing on the things like you can't control in that way, like you kind of like forget about the things that are really bad experiences in your life, so the opportunity to help you realize that you're doing this much now so like. How much can you do in the future?.

H

I've done a lot of programs. What is different on modern words is that this is a job and I should job where you can get paid to learn the business side of things. We'll continue to learn about yourself. For me, wow I, didn't know. I was naturally like before people told me. I was, but I didn't really believe it where now I, not only believe it, but I. Am it I'm, a leader more than where it's just works?

H

It just works more you've need more than words because use new job skills and to be able to work on themselves. You don't get that another jobs, no matter what your background is more than words will work with you.

E

Thank you. So we have Wow we're going to move to Table Talk in a minute where you're going to have the opportunity to hear the stories of the young people at your table and have a more intimate conversation.

E

I think that's one of the really great things about more than words is we're going to bring a real up, close and personal for you, but we're going to wrap up the panel with our last question for the mayor mayor, you've been incredibly vocal and standing up for marginalized groups, specifically immigrants and the LGBT community and I think both of those groups are reflected in fedora and Fernando stories. Today.

E

Can you speak a little bit about why it is so important that we're willing and able to stand up and help give voice to those groups and and what their success means to the city. Yeah.

I

I mean when you take a Boston: it's we're one of the best cities in the world. It's not the greatest city in the world when I praise the mayor, I purchased it with the greatest in the world with the greatest city in the world.

I

Also edit, that video to make sure I got it right, just in case you know we're in inclusive City, and when you look at our history, we weren't always like that, and society wasn't always like that, and you know one of my one of my products voted.

I

The Statehouse was marriage, equality back in 2004, and this is when it wasn't a popular stance when I say that it was a lot of a lot of confusion around where we are as a society, when gay marriages would support what was given to gay people by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. During that debate it made us all made a lot of people. I didn't do a lot of soul-searching and understanding about now. Who are we as a society and if two people love each other, why? Why would we?

I

Why would we not allow them to get married? Why we don't allow them to share their life together and I think that that was something that was a tipping point or turning point in Massachusetts for the LGBT Q community here in Boston, but two women came into my office during that debate.

I

They were a couple they weren't married, obviously ekiz marriage was in here and they were elderly and they were talking about being gay and they were talking about having to kind of live in the shadows of people for decades, and they were talking about the struggles that if one the families never accepted their relationship. This is they're older.

I

Now the family's never accepted their relationship and if they got married at least if one of them got sick, one of they'd be able to kind of take care of each other and they wouldn't be blocked out by the family and the trust and the Wills, and all that stuff wouldn't be complicated and I said. Then I talked to myself. These are two women at the time there must be like in late 60s, maybe early 70s, and they lived their whole life in some pot in fear and I thought.

I

You know it deserves a stay right by the time they got like this. This isn't the right way to be and I think as a society as a city, it's important for our leaders to stand up for. What's right, when the, when the president did his executive order, immigrants I was not I was I, was actually angry about and I jump right out. Why was I angry? Because in our school department, in our school department, we had kids that were brought here by their parents?

I

They were undocumented and we had kids that were born here by parents who are undocumented and it was a fear in them. It was a fear in our kids and I thought. It was important for us to put a stake in the ground right away and I think as a society when I think about Boston, when you think about Boston. Now you think about we, we are going through an incredible growth, third-largest growth spurt in the history of our city. We have more companies that want to come into our city.

I

We have more people living in our city. We have more people who want to work in our city. We people who want to invest in our city. We have a safe city, we are a city of immigrants, 20% of the people that live in our city were born in another country, 53% of the people that live in our city a first-generation like myself. We have a community, the LGBTQ community that isn't just stuck in the south end or a little pocket of a neighborhood.

I

We have the LGBTQ community in every neighborhood in the city of Boston. We have communities of race in every community in the city of Boston. We celebrate our culture's this week and we have the Haitian Haitian parade on Sunday and we have we celebrate our culture. So that's what makes us special of the city and that's what we should be as people to be calling. We should be working with each other, not against each other and I.

I

Think that we're going to continue in Boston as long as I'm the mayor of the city of Boston, we're going to continue, I'm going to continue to fight for the immigrants, both documents and undocumented, I'm going to continue to fight for the rights of people, because you know what I have those rights and it's never questioned about mati walls because he's an Irish Catholic and his rights.

E

Thank you all for sharing so much with us this morning, you're now in for a special treat, we're going to take about the next 10 or 12 minutes for you to have the opportunity to meet the young people at your respective tables. Who've also prepared to talk with you today and it's an opportunity for you to ask some questions and learn more about more than work. So thank you so much enjoy.

A