Jerrick’s almost constant smile belies the many challenges he’s had in his 18 years of life. His mother died when he was very young and he’s had almost zero contact with his father. He was raised in San Francisco’s Mission district by his maternal grandparents who lived on social security. Despite the poverty and gang violence around him, Jerrick chose to stay positive, finding healthy outlets in the B-Boy movement (a form of break dancing) and in creating and sharing “spoken word” (a mix of poetic words, music, and hip hop).

Jerrick wanted to reach his goals but lacked the resources. Jerrick has worked hard to take constructive steps in his life and managed to finish high school. His goal was to obtain an Associate Degree and then transfer to a four-year university. But he didn’t know how to pay for college. He had looked for jobs but kept hitting a wall because of his lack of work experience. And, he didn’t know how to make a university transfer possible.

Jerrick came to New Door and got the tools he needed. Jerrick then heard of New Door and competed with over 30 applicants to earn a paid job internship at Ashbury Images. As part of his internship, Jerrick was matched with his own case manager who worked with him in weekly meetings to actualize his goals. Together, they mapped out the sequence of classes required for a transfer and worked through the how-to’s of budgeting, saving, and applying for financial aid for school. His case manager paired him with a volunteer tutor for weekly, one-on-one sessions so that he could get the grades required for a transfer. And Jerrick’s case manager held him accountable to meeting his commitments at both work and school, teaching him how to balance his obligations and stressing the importance of fulfilling even small tasks in order to tackle bigger responsibilities in the future. For every paycheck he earned at Ashbury Images, Jerrick was able to save half of that amount for school. In fact, because New Door enrolled him in a community program that matched each of the dollars he saved, Jerrick was able to complete his internship with double the amount he would have otherwise had for his education.

“New Door and Ashbury Images mean a lot to me," Jerrick says with his winsome smile. "It is the only place willing to lend a hand to a youth who wants to make the right moves and stay away from negative influences. They give you the chance, in anything you want to do. They believe that you can pretty much do anything. And they'll help you in any way they can."