Hope Street

In December of 2020, a sickening statistic shot through the headlines of the Mecklenburg county local news. The most murders on record since the early 90’s. January 2021 continued as an extension of the 2020 numbers. Crime and death aren’t bound by a calendar. The cold months turned to warmer months. Gun-related deaths continued racking up.

I heard the whip-crack sound of a pistol late one fall evening in 2021. I wasn’t startled or scared - I knew the distance of the fire immediately. A Citizen app alert dinged on my phone within seconds. Shots heard near local gas station. Updates continued to rattle on my phone… shots fired confirmed. One victim located. Search for suspect ongoing. 16-year old shot to death.

Someone’s son. I was struck by his age, by the proximity to my own children, sleeping in their bed upstairs. Why? How could someone point a gun at a child and pull the trigger? He bled out in the gas station around the corner.

I grew up with guns. Big shotguns, muzzle loaders, Glocks and Berettas. We didn’t dare point them at a person. They were meant only for hunting deer and ducks. The pain I saw from the deafening gun violence in Charlotte, NC sparked a fire in my heart and made me desperate to understand why.

Hope and options were not a thematic driver in the projects. The gun violence was killing a generation of young men… but it was accepted as the norm. This is not normal. I wanted to do something. I started formulating a plan to provide an option. I founded an LLC - Hope Street Collective. The streets, and the gun violence that comes with it, is the default option for too many kids in North Carolina. With a collective of other community members, a business plan began to take shape.

Months after founding the non profit, I had a gun held to my own head. It was loaded and held by my then boyfriend. The cold steel of a 9mm pistol pressed against my temple stayed dormant under my ex’s grasp and I escaped still alive. He was raised in the same environment as the young man who shot the 16-year old boy last fall. Pointing the barrel of a gun at someone was a comfortable action for my attacker.

The situation with my ex and his gun fueled my drive to rush the launch of Hope Street. After school and during the summer, local 9th to 12th graders will be able to enroll in a career training program focused on a tangible outcome. Producing their own products - using a guided business model, materials and mentor support - they will be able to manage and sell each aspect of their mini business. Profits from sales will stay with the kids. They will complete the program with a mentor, a resume, revenue, connections in the community and business experience. Many of the people I know in Charlotte work in the creative industry. I’m leveraging this network to kickstart the non profit. The inaugural 3 month program will be focused on skills and career paths like videography, design, event management and advertising. Over the next several months, I’ll work with volunteers to create content and weekly assignments with learning materials that the participating kids can use to support their growth and development of marketable products. It will have a timeline and “final project” goal date to work toward. Materials and equipment needed to execute the program are being donated, and a list of volunteer mentors is being curated.

February 14th, 2022 will be a day of celebration and hope as we launch the first fundraising products for Hope Street. Summer 2022 will be the start of our first afterschool program in Charlotte, NC. We’re ready to provide an alternative path - a new option for Mecklenburg County youth - with Hope Street.