Carter in fight against violence
Hartford guard, who lost his brother, started camp for at-risk youth
Traci Carter vowed to help make a difference for at-risk youth when he lost his brother to gun violence less than a year ago. He has kept at it while leading the University of Hartford to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Carter, a 24-year-old graduate transfer, started Anchors Camp after his brother was slain last summer in their hometown of Philadelphia. City kids travel to a farm near tiny Madison, New York, where they participate in traditional camp activities but also tour Colgate University and are introduced at the camp to basic skills in fields such as plumbing, electrical work and barbering.
Hartford plays Baylor on Friday night and Carter, a point guard who averages about 12 points a game, can again showcase the work he has done off the court. He speaks openly about the loss of his brother, including how it happened — and how it prompted him to take action.
“Philly, we’re the murder capital right now,” he said. “I had to figure out something to do to make a change.”
He’d been raised primarily by a grandmother because, Carter said, their mother suffered from drug problems.
The goal of Anchors Camp, Carter said, is to demonstrate career paths that don’t involve sports and entertainment — or drugs — but still lead to success.
“This is how you change neighborhoods, this is how you change communities,” Hartford coach John Gallagher said.
Carter is now raising funds for weeklong camps this summer.
Carter will graduate in May with a master’s degree in communications and will begin working full-time on Anchors Camp, with the goal of eventually opening camps across the nation.
“He was always mature; he was always this way,” Gallagher said. “But now he’s on a mission.”
For years, Ginni Egan has been on the front lines helping teenage parents confront tough hurdles.
There was the 15-year-old locked outside by her guardians in the winter. The parental spouses who sealed their kitchen cupboards, moms caught in abusive relationships and expectant mothers staring down eviction.
“I’m running into these situations repeatedly,” Egan said. “Trying to help these families is very complicated.”
The often-byzantine legal arrangements governing the living arrangements of minors has resulted in what Egan, executive director of the Schenectady nonprofit Young Parents United, has called “crazy-innovative solutions” — including instructing a young teenage mother to lock herself in her room to avoid a family member cooking drugs in the kitchen so she could make it through her GED program.
She did, and later went on to graduate from vocational school.
Such is the often-volatile world of teenage pregnancy in which young mothers are caught between independence and the murky latticework of the court system.
A steady living environment is critical to self-sufficiency, and Egan hopes to provide that with a proposed new transitional housing apartment building for teenage parents on the campus of Ellis Medicine’s Mcclellan Street Health Center.
Young Parents United is eyeing a parcel on the corner of Mcclellan and Bradley streets for the proposed $7.5 million project, a 12,000-square-foot single-story structure with 14 units.
Plans for the proposed Lshaped building call for two wings with classroom space for parenting, job and other life skills courses.
The target population will be mothers under the age of 24 and their children. Ideally, parents will stay between 18 and 24 months with up to two children before moving on.
Educational and other programs, as well case management services, will be available to all family members enrolled in the programming, including fathers.
While teenage and young parents are subjected to “extreme social and economic instability,” unstable, unsafe and “highly complex” home environments, Egan said, existing resources are scant locally.
Schenectady County has just one bed slot for a young mother with a baby, she said.
“Once that’s filled, that’s it,” Egan said.
Schenectady County has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the state — 41.1 per 1,000 for 15- to 19-year olds, well above the average of 26.7 percent, according to state Department of Health data from 2016.
“They’re often living in highly dysfunctional settings with nowhere to go,” Egan said. “In order to break generational cycles, you need to create a stable environment to create a path forward.”
Currently, the organization serves 90 parents and 101 children.
The proposed project site, which currently serves as an overflow parking lot, is classified as single- and two-family residential and requires a zoning change for the project to move forward.
Young Parents United will seek approval from the city Planning Commission on Wednesday. If approved, Ellis Medicine will sell them the 1-acre parcel.
The proposed building site is currently surrounded by a variety of property uses, including one- and two-family homes, apartments and small businesses.
The City Council would also need to sign off on the zoning change and hold a public hearing.
Officials have lined up behind the effort, with the county Department
of Social Services, the Little Family Foundation and city Mayor Gary Mccarthy submitting letters of support.
“We consider this a positive project that aligns with the city’s goals,” said city Director of Development Kristin Diotte.
The site was selected, in part, due to its proximity to health care services and shopping amenities, as well as its location along a CDTA bus line.
The estimated operating expenses for the building and support services is $770,000 annually, according to project materials.
Egan said she’s met with officials from the state’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program to discuss funding, and expects efforts to stitch together a financial package will accelerate once the zoning change is approved.
Part of the long-term vision would be to establish additional permanent housing that clients could transition to once they become self-sufficient.
“It’s a real issue, and it’s a real gap systemically,” Egan said. “This is why we’re working so hard on this and why we need the support.”