Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Bertrand-Pitts.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Justin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born and raised in a small town in Georgia named Tifton. Most people knew each other and those that didn’t know you knew your mother. I, like most people from small towns, found the quickest thing smoking to get out of there. After college, I lived in Savannah, Ga. Although Savannah isn’t big compared to Houston, it was the BIG city based off of my hometown. It was there I started to realize that the small town was a safe and comfortable place for me. But this city also thought me that I was not as much of an adult that I thought. I was homeless a large portion of the three years living in Savannah, but I would continue to work and hang out with many people who never knew my true reality. While working for a clothing store, I started to steal money from cash transactions and even from night deposits. At the time, I felt it was due to me for not making enough to make ends meet. But it wasn’t until I was arrested in the middle of my shift, and embarrassed to have to call my father to bail me out of jail, that I realized that I had hit the very bottom of what I considered to be rock bottom. Thankfully I was given community service and ordered to pay the money back. I worked super hard to get that done.
After all that happened and I attempted to get on the right track, I obtained a job at My Brothaz HOME, a public health organization. It was there that I discovered my passion for helping people and wanting to be a voice for the community. While on a training trip to Houston for that job, I met the man I knew I would fall in love with, Desmond. He and I talked for days and months after me returning to Savannah. He ultimately made me make a decision, and in 2009, I moved to Houston on a wish and a prayer with only $800, which was my monthly paycheck, from working in public health. I started working with a mental health agency and we begin our life and journey together. From that $800 and a small one bedroom in Westchase ideas and conversations started to get me to where I am today; husband, pastor, homeowner, business owner, mentor, and foster father.
Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest struggle I had throughout my development was being homeless. This was in part to me being stubborn and not wanting to move back to the small town. I lived in Hotels and often times in my car just to save money. My best friend also joined me in misery for a short time also. I remember one Thanksgiving not having money to go home, we both volunteered to work the Black Friday sales to have an excuse to give to our family. That year we ate at Golden Corral by helping with the seniors that were coming from the retirement facilities. So needless to say we stuffed food in any pocket we could find..lol. During that time, I was depressed and cried almost every day. Even when working and trying to make clients happy and meeting their needs, I was depressed deep down inside and contemplated suicide several times because I was just unsure how to deal with the hand life dealt me.
While living in Houston, the biggest obstacle is finding ways to get the word out about a small grassroots organization when standing next to the giants in the mentoring and youth development world. My husband and I often say that the biggest challenge for MEN Incorporated is that neither one of us wanted to go into non-profit management to start with and have no training in the area.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
M.E.N. (Mentoring, Educating & Nurturing) Incorporated (MEN Inc.) started as an idea of then boyfriend, now husband, Desmond. We started by helping young men that were close friends, from there we started to get referrals and people from all over that needed advise and resources. During the early stages of MEN Incorporated, Desmond had a large hand in moving us forward and making us grow. I worked full time and did MEN Inc during the nights and weekends. We realized that our reach had to go further and had to make our impact greater so we assembled some friends and supporters for our first Board of Directors and officially began MEN Inc in 2011. Our first school group with Alief Independent School District at the Elsik 9th Grade Center. We went into the group with only about ten young men and ended that school year with almost 20.
Throughout the years, we have grown to several different school districts, apartment complexes and community agencies. Even as a home-based organization MEN Incorporated has allowed me to work with over 150 young men each year to provide one on one and group level mentoring, case management, and counseling services.
MEN Inc creates a brotherhood within the organization, our young men are considered members and they have a creed and signature colors that allow them to identify each other even if they are from different schools or areas. We offer services that focus on the entire young man including emotional, social and mental health. We provide case management to ensure our members have the essentials to focus properly during school and even follow them until age 25 when we encourage them to return to the program as an active mentor to a younger member.
MEN Inc. gives scholarships during our Scholarship Gala (October 2019) to young men who compete in our scholarship essay competition.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston is the perfect place for mentoring and youth services. It is no secret that HISD and other school districts are struggling to provide mentoring and oversight for many of our young men, especially black and brown boys. MEN Incorporated and others like us are vital to fill in the gap so a teacher can focus on teaching and not managing behavior problems from a young man. I personally feel that there are several ways that any newcomer to the city or anyone in the city can get involved and make a huge impact with a small amount of time within starting their own type of agency. But Houston as a whole and our young men in the city need quality mentoring and positive male role models. If you have the dedication and drive, I most certainly encourage you to find what would make your mentoring service different and go for it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.meninchouston.org
- Phone: 8329473496
- Email: justindpitts@meninchouston.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/men_incorporated/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menincorporated/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MENIncHouston
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