When Ricky joined the Just in Time community four years ago, he came for college resources and then quickly began building bonds within the community. This past year, Ricky joined Bridges to Success for Young Men (B2S), a supportive brotherhood that builds professional and personal skills.
Ever since sixth grade, when Ricky was removed from his home and placed with his aunt, he was always seeking ways to connect with people. “In society, I feel like it’s harder for guys to make friends, especially if they’re not extroverted, which is hard because friendship is the ultimate safety net for everything. If you don’t have any friends, nobody really knows where you are or what’s going on and you don’t have anyone to check in with.”
He was drawn to B2S because it offered an environment of success where you could also have authentic conversations about things that really matter.
“B2S has been really cool because it speaks to a bunch of different layers of being a human and of being a man – what it means culturally and how we see ourselves,” said Ricky. “A lot of the workshops address the physical and the psychospiritual too. In one, a Buddhist psychologist and shared techniques for articulating our emotions and thoughts.”
Ricky describes his relationships with JIT coaches, staff and peers as heart-opening. “Just in Time has been super helpful for me. I want to be able to help the community grow and reach more people with its services because I know first-hand how important and life-changing they are.”
