HEAL DC program graduates and staff at the program’s August 26 graduation
At A Wider Circle, we’re proud to partner with organizations that help people transform their lives. Recently, our Career Support program worked with Peace for DC’s HEAL DC program (Healthy, Empowered, Achieving Leaders for DC) to support a group of ten young men who were caught in the cycle of gun violence in DC’s Anacostia neighborhood.
Adam Albanese, Senior Program Advisor at A Wider Circle, served as the lead career coach for HEAL DC participants. We recently spoke with him about the program, the graduation, and what comes next.
AWC Blog: What is HEAL DC, and how did A Wider Circle get involved?
Adam: HEAL DC is a program from Peace for DC that helps people in neighborhoods hit hardest by gun violence. It’s all about giving participants long-term support to transform their lives. The program takes inspiration from successful models like READI and Chicago CRED and uses approaches like Roca’s Rewire cognitive behavioral techniques. As Peace for DC always cites, programs like these have seen amazing results. For example, in Chicago, 73% of participants who completed the program didn’t get charged with a violent crime again.
Our Career Support program was invited to join as a workforce partner. We helped participants on all fronts: resume and job application support, interview practice, counseling, coaching, and developing bigger strategies for what their careers could look like.
What stood out to you about this cohort?
The participants were all really great guys. So many of them were motivated about supporting their families. They were always honest, candid, and transparent with me. They didn’t sugarcoat. There were honest exchanges. Many were also interested in supporting their communities.
One participant, Kevin, said during his graduation speech, “I came here to make a change. I was in a dark room I couldn’t get out of, but I just — I found a way. Every time I come to class, I feel proud of myself. And I watch out if you’re proud of me too… I wanna see y’all make it, like I did, because at the end of the day—I thought I was never going to make it. But I believe in myself.”
How did the collaboration between A Wider Circle and Peace for DC support participants?
This collaboration was a beautiful coming together of our career support expertise — the career services piece and the coaching-informed methodology we use with our clients — and the beautiful health focus from Peace for DC. This partner was really committed to identifying people who want to end the cycle of violence. They started with the mental and physical health side, helping them resolve some of their more immediate needs. They had a tremendous amount of care and compassion in that approach. People need to be able to take care of themselves — they need to be healthy as best they can — and everything flows from that.
In coaching, there is this principle that the client is centered as the expert in their own lives. This is something we hold dearly in Career Support. And that same value was present from the beginning with Peace for DC. Our jobs are not to tell people what to do with their lives, but to provide them with meaningful support, tools, and resources.
A HEAL DC participant speaks at the program’s graduation
Tell us about some of the work you did with these young men.
I did a lot of interview prep. The ‘A-Ha’ moments were around helping participants know how to answer interview questions. They didn’t really know what employers were looking for, nor how to articulate certain things in an interview. I played a small part in helping them recognize their skills and talents at a deeper level, in ways they may not have thought of.
I loved being able to collaborate with — and be in a dynamic relationship with — the participants’ case manager. We were constantly trying to problem solve and have teamwork across organizations to bring the best of what we got to the table.
Were there challenges with this first cohort?
Not everyone was able to finish the program, but that was because they were dealing with more immediate situations they had to take care of. They had so many things to balance — housing dynamics, family dynamics. Some were on probation. They went as far as they could. When people did not text me, I know it was not a lack of motivation, but because they got busy with other things in life. One young man showed inspiring perseverance, dealing with a significant issue in his family and his own struggles. He was not always in a good place when we spoke, but he kept calling me.
Adam (second from left) and Eddy Ameen, A Wider Circle’s Chief Program Officer (left), stand to applaud HEAL DC graduates
What were some outcomes from the program?
Everyone got interviews before graduation! We were able to help one participant get a full-time job. It is a steady job, and he is making good money. I was so proud of playing some small part in channeling these participants’ motivation and energy, and helping them realize all the gifts and skills they carry already, and have more confidence in speaking about these.
What was graduation like?
It was really fun to watch this graduation. Kevin spoke about how he used to not believe in himself. I watched him believe in himself and what was possible in real time. Cree said it was time to start showing up for their own kids. Dr. Robert Johns from Howard University was the keynote speaker, and he reminded everyone to “hold on to that feeling you have at this graduation… expect to stumble, but keep moving forward.” It was a moment full of hope and achievement.
What’s next?
We will partner with Peace for DC for cohort two, which will begin next month! It is coming to Washington Highlands, where A Wider Circle has our Ward 8 Hub. I am just really excited to bring this approach to a community that we have been working in for almost 10 years, and that I’ve personally worked in for almost 7. Between all the great resources we have at the Hub, and all the resources that Peace for DC has, and all the lessons we learned from the first cohort, it’s the best of all worlds, really.
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