On Wednesday April 10, 2024, the Hustle PHX team, powered by AmeriCorps AZ, continued their journey with 16 justice-involved youth, becoming the next generation of (restorative) Hustlers through the all new YEP 101 course.

The team opened up the night with a recap of the previous week, which was about: Restorative Hustling. They took some time to contrast between book smarts and street smarts. The team showed a video of famous hip-hop star/rapper Lecrae to give an example of a restorative hustler, and also someone who found their sweet spot. 

Before moving into this week’s topic, the team discussed some of the benefits of entrepreneurship. As a group, they listed: 

• Being able to do something that you are passionate about.
• Taking care of those you love.
• Having more time on your hands(depending on how successful your business may become).

One of our volunteer facilitators took the time to go over some discussion questions with the youth, to help them identify what their personal sweet spots were. Numerous questions were asked that covered each aspect of the sweet spot and also touched on the topics of legacy, passion and motivation. This was a time of deep thought and self-reflection to help the youth really delve/dive deep into their business ideas and/or career choices and also consider how the reality of their current circumstances might play a role in their decision making.

Our team took the time to build upon the sweet spot discussion, making clear that their sweet spot doesn’t necessarily have to be a business, but could be a career opportunity as well. An example was given, the process of how an oyster makes a pearl, encouraging the youth to think about the “irritants” of their lives, and whether they’ll use them as motivation to progress or regress(upon getting out).

After taking some time to discuss these things and also answer questions, we moved on to a quiz, to see how the youth have been doing up to this point; and also a SMART goals exercise, to help the youth come up with some realistic goals they can implement to help them work towards their professional goals

By the end of the night, most if not all of the quizzes were completed, SMART goals were in development and the cohort was dismissed.

In going over the discussion questions and SMART goals, there was an apparent focus on the youth preparing for and envisioning their lives after lockup. And with that in mind, I’d like to pose the question:

While they may be preparing to get out, are you as an individual and also a society prepared to receive them?

Thank you to all our volunteers, donors and supporters who help make this possible! And to those who may want to be a part of this journey, press the button below:

This publication was made possible by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family (GOYFF) through grant number 24AC265250. The views, opinions, or policies expressed belong solely to the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the GOYFF.