We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Wesley Hawkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Wesley , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Wesley Hawkins grew up, abandoned buildings were called “abandominiums.” More families lived in these burned-out houses without utilities than could afford rent or running water. Neighbors shared electricity by running extension cords out of their windows, and and anyone had anything, shared.But it wasn’t all tales of heartwarming community. In such extreme poverty, drugs were the only way out. Whether you were using them – like Hawkins’ mother, whose heartbreaking story inspired his mentorship work – or selling them, like Hawkins was by the age of eleven in order to help feed his brothers and sisters.Some of you readers know exactly the America that Wesley Hawkins grew up in. You know it because you live there too. The most surprising part of this story, for you, might be the triumph through which Hawkins got out of the drug game and dedicated his life to helping other kids succeed and move up in the world while avoiding the drugs that destroyed his family, and killed his mother and her husband. Hawkins hopes his story will show you new worlds that are possible for you.Other readers may be more shocked by the true stories of tragedy contained in these pages – the sexual abuse suffered by Hawkins’ grandmother and his mother, the abuse of children in underground fighting rings, and the deaths and his mother and her husband from drug-related causes. Hawkins hopes this book might change the way you see your neighbors, and those laws which show little regard for their well-being.Hawkins’ non-profit, The Nolita Project, seeks to show youth raised in poverty that a better future really is possible for them. The Nolita Project provides mentorship, supportive relationships, tutoring, classes, and other services to kids from neighborhoods like the ones Hawkins himself grew up in. Read this book, and visit DearNolita.org, to find out how you can help.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Children don’t deserve to live in abandoned homes. With no running water. No food. No clean clothes. Males should not have to doubt they will live to be 18 years of age. Families should not have to live in communities where this is “normal”.
Yet, in poor, urban communities throughout America, this is normal. The unrelenting cycle of lack of resources and lack of opportunity leads to children abandoning dreams for a better future. Because they lack the inspiration to hope for tomorrow, their priority becomes “surviving today”. They develop the beliefs that going to school, just “saying no” to drugs, saving their virginity, obtaining legal employment, or contributing to society is meaningless.
Why invest in a tomorrow that I may not live to see?
And if I do see it, it won’t be any different from my life today.
The Nolita Project was created to help build the minds, heal the hearts and open the eyes of the youth in underserved communities in Baltimore, Through positive mentoring and workforce development, we are helping children believe I do not have to become what I live in – lack, struggle, hopelessness. We are helping children envision a long life, higher goals, healthy relationships, a successful future, and real happiness. We want every child to know that they are great…they are special…they are better than their environment.

Through mentoring, our role models serve as living examples of being able to overcome extreme adversity to attain success. Our mentors know intimately the struggles of the children they mentor – what they think, how they live, what dreams they are doubting. Their own struggles to survive have fully equipped them to not only connect and communicate with but also inspire a child that has only been exposed to hardship, deprivation, and death since the day they were born. We understand that children become what they see and we are determined to be their constant visual reminder that they can be great.

OUR VISION
• To create opportunities for success to youth in struggling communities.
• To provide advocacy and mentoring services to youth in struggling communities.
• To create opportunities for success beyond the classroom and into adulthood.
• To develop strong and efficient leaders in the home, community, and workforce.
• To inspire struggling youth to be a product of positive thoughts despite negative environments.
• To restore school attachment and teach the importance of education to under privileged youth.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

What inspires me is that my mom She struggled with substance abuse addiction for most of her adult life. Ultimately, Ms. Nolita was not triumphant over her addiction and passed away in December 2014. She left 10 children in her passing. Due to my mothers addiction and lifestyle, I grew up in some of the worse neighborhoods in Baltimore. Ive lived in abandoned houses, went day without something to eat, no hot water, no electricity, and for most of my childhood it was a struggle. I saw some of the most devastating things possible. I want to take my life experiences and turn them into positives for the youth and people in struggling communities.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn everything that I was taught as a child, I only knew street life. I had to learn new ways to survive and make money without risking myself. That’s what led me to what drives my passion. My passion to change the paths of youth exhibiting destructive behaviors. That comes directly from being inspired by the life and death of my mother. Thus, is why I named the organization “The Nolita Project”. The organization aims to interrupt patterns of negative behavior in struggling youth in hopes of creating a new foundation that would motivate them educationally, vocationally, and socially.

The Goal is to increase academic performance as well as the graduation rate for students in underserved communities. By addressing three critical areas; self- awareness through empowerment, academic mentoring, and interpersonal communication skills, The Nolita Project will assist students as they matriculate through school. These combined forces, working together in unison, are optimal in creating pathways for success. Also, keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. I want to save lives, support and uplift the youth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nolitaproject.org
• Instagram: Dear_nolita
• Facebook: Wesley Darnell Hawkins
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesley-hawkins-m-ed-5ba148a2
• Twitter: Dear_nolita
• Youtube: @thenolitaprojectinc

Image Credits
Wesley Hawkins