海角大神

Shay Knox knows a few things about change.聽

Raised on Chicago鈥檚 Southwest Side, she鈥檚 seen firsthand what can happen when a community takes a downturn. Her beloved neighborhood, Back of the Yards, is a shadow of the place she fell in love with as a child.

鈥淚t was beautiful in the summertime,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淵ou would see just a ton of young people with colorful beach towels all heading to the pool to have fun. ... Nowadays, kids can鈥檛 go to the corner store to get a loaf of bread because of fear of getting shot.鈥�

She鈥檚 not even considering moving, though. She aims to 鈥渂e part of the change to bring things back how they used to be.鈥� Today she is an outreach supervisor for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago and works with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, the subject of a recent cover story. But she has her own story to tell.

Titi Shay, as she鈥檚 known around the neighborhood, has become many things for her community, from friend and counselor to job coach and violence interrupter. At one point, though, it looked as if the forces pulling her community down might take her with them.聽

At age 14, she was eagerly anticipating her eighth grade graduation. Her parents were separated and she had been looking forward to seeing both of them at the ceremony. On the phone just days before, her father told her how excited he was to watch her graduate. But when she scanned the crowd, he was nowhere to be found. He had been arrested and ended up spending 32 years behind bars.

Her father鈥檚 incarceration became a turning point for the family. As additional burdens shifted to her mother, 鈥渕e and my brother, we had to kind of survive from the streets,鈥� Ms. Knox says. 鈥淚 began selling drugs and was back and forth, in and out of jail.鈥�

During one stint in jail, she met a woman who seemed particularly strong to her, but nevertheless the woman broke down crying with worry that her children weren鈥檛 getting proper care in her absence. Recalling how devastating her father鈥檚 incarceration had been, Ms. Knox promised herself, 鈥淚f I ever have children I鈥檓 never coming back to jail.鈥�

Shortly after her release, she became pregnant with her first child. True to her word, she found an inventory company willing to hire formerly incarcerated people and got to work. Soon promoted to supervisor, she encouraged friends to join her. 鈥淲e would take the bus together,鈥� she says. 鈥淧reviously, maybe a year before, you would see us in gang colors. Now you would see us in work uniforms. It was just great.鈥�

That story plays prominently in her work with young people who come through Precious Blood. She tells them, 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to change. Change is good.鈥�

Over time, Ms. Knox has witnessed the growth that can come from even one individual deciding to invest in positive change. Helping young people to see that is a constant tightrope. One minute she鈥檚 gently feeling out 鈥� never probing 鈥� whether a teen has enough to eat. Another she鈥檚 helping a mother mediate between sons caught on opposite sides of a gang battle. The work is both rewarding and draining, particularly when she encounters her own personal struggles.

When her oldest son died after illness, 鈥淚 almost wanted to give up and forget everything,鈥� she says.聽

Then she got a call from a young man she had been working with in the community. 鈥淧lease don鈥檛 leave us. Please don鈥檛 quit the job,鈥� he said after offering his condolences. 鈥淲e鈥檙e your kids, too.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 not going anywhere,鈥� she assured him. 鈥淚 love and appreciate you. And I鈥檓 right here when you need me.鈥�