A North Texas man and his staff have been helping troubled teens find a second chance and get back on their feet.
Frank Kuykendall never imagined he'd be working with kids and teens. As a program manager for the non profit Community Learning Center in Fort Worth, it's become his passion and personal mission to help troubled teens get an education and find meaningful employment.
"We've adopted the mission of helping these young people as our life's work," Frank said. "We don't want to lose and losing to me means a child dropping out of our program."
Frank focuses on youth through a program called YouthBuild, which allows students to get their GED's, while learning a trade and helping low income family get into their own homes. Without this program, many of the students face a difficult future.
"Low income, generally from multiple generations. Many have had various difficulties in school, which caused them to turn away from school and eventually drop out when they turned 16," Frank said. "Many are involved with drugs as a coping mechanism because of the trauma they've suffered or for entertainment. These young people have a lot of barriers that you and I may not have had."
Some 65% of the students they serve have been through the criminal justice system, according to Frank.
More than just a program manager...Frank and his staff are friends and mentors to the youth they serve.
We're proud to call Frank Kuykendall and YouthBuild this week's KRLD Difference Makers.
If you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.