Huggy Bear Hits The Halls

Ronald Huggins made his way through the Wilbur Cross High School hallways greeting students with handshakes and a ​“What’s up bro?”

And a pitch to enter the summer jobs pipeline.

“What’s your goal for the year?” he asked a trio of passing students.

“Making money and grinding,” the students agreed.

“You can be a cop,” he told one of the students. ​“They get money.”

One student said she plans to become a juvenile corrections officer. One said she wants to be a radiologist.

“Well you got to start somewhere,” Huggins concluded. ​“So if you want to start getting that money this summer, get a job with us.”

Then Huggins showed the students to a QR code for an application to the Youth@Work summer jobs program run by the city department where Huggins works as deputy director. The students scanned the code and headed to class — potentially one step better connected to their city.

Cross was the first of three schools Huggins visited Thursday on his regular rounds as city government’s point person in dealing with young people to offer direct one-on-one support. Huggins, a 31-year-old Hillhouse High grad nicknamed ​“Huggy Bear,” has for years worked on the ground with young people. The three visits offered a glimpse of how Huggins and his Youth and Recreation Department team reach out and connect with the teens to find opportunities for a better future for themselves and for New Haven.

Stop 1: Cross Encounters

Huggins arrived at Cross at 7 a.m. He encountered a group of students he knows tend to wander Cross halls throughout the day to avoid classes. He offered the students up to $20 each at the end of the day if they could show him they went to all of their classes. The students accepted the challenge.

A half hour later, one of the students checked in with Huggins in the hallway after leaving his first period. ​“You went to class right?” Huggins asked. The student nodded and showed him a stack of papers proving he collected the assignment for the day. 

“That’s what I like to see. Keep it going,” Huggins said. 

During a quick stop in Cross’ print shop, Huggins was greeted by department head Anthony Latella, who was boxing up a Youth and Rec office poster that his students had printed, laminated, and trimmed the day before. The students also translated the posters to Spanish. 

Latella told Huggins of the students he recently encouraged to apply for Youth@Work thanks to another print order from the department of posters displaying the application QR code. 

“It’s important stuff because when they’re not in school, they have to go somewhere,” Latella said. 

The Cross print shop is one of over a dozen work sites available for students to work through the city’s Youth@Work program. 

This year is the first time Youth and Rec has used a completely digital application for the Youth@Work program, aimed at streamlining the process for students and cutting down on paper products.

Stop 2: Riverside

Huggins headed off to his second stop around 9 a.m to New Haven’s last standing alternative high school, Riverside Academy in the Hill. 

The school’s hallways were quiet as Huggins entered the office of Riverside Principal Derek Stephenson. 

The two checked in about the school’s recent student referrals and new student arrivals transferred from high schools around the district. 

“These kids are in survival mode,” Stephenson said. ​“And it’s making them increasingly hopeless, which impacts their attendance.”

Huggins emphasized the impact of providing youth with jobs, especially in their schools to build their value for the school property. 

“The kids are always asking about jobs,” Stephenson said. 

Stephenson called sophomore Shaniya Bethea to the office for her first time ever. Since she transferred in September to Riverside from Co-op High, where she was struggling, she has significantly upped her performance in school.

“We want to reward you for doing so well. This is a testament to you,” Huggins said to Bethea. 

Stephenson said that since Bethea arrived at the school, she has caused not a single problem and has earned good grades.

At Riverside, Bethea said, ​“y’all listen more. Y’all help more.” 

“It’s easy to stay on the trajectory of negativity,” Stephenson said. ​“But that’s not you.”

Huggins offered to link Bethea with a job. ​“If you want it, you can make money right now. As long as you stay focused,” he said. 

Bethea said she has worked in the past for the LEAP youth program. She’s looking to get new experience. Huggins and Stephenson agreed they would give her a job at Riverside to learn office skills and to lead creative projects. 

Before Huggins left, he gave Stephenson two brand new winter coats to provide to students in need. 

Stop 3: On To Coop

While riding to a final stop at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, Huggins spoke on the phone with former Youth@Work student Shadae Evans. 

Evans got her first job with Youth@Work at 15 years old while attending Cross. After expressing an interest in being a police officer, she worked for a summer with Yale’s protective services. The next year she transferred to working as an aide at a daycare agency called Hope For New Haven. This is where she discovered her career interest in social work and working with youth. She worked for ten years moving up from an aide to an assistant and then head teacher.

“The chance motivated me to want more for myself,” Evans said. ​“It changed my life.” 

Fifteen years later, Evans is a social worker and Director of Kids Tyme Daycare. Evans has also founded a LLC to introduce therapeutic spaces to local daycares. 

At Co-op, Youth and Rec team members Ernie Cloman, Tenaiya Baker, Erika Blake, and Quantaijah Brown helped Huggins promote Youth@Work as well as the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council (MYLC).

Cloman said the goal of the MYLC is to bring students of different backgrounds together to learn about the city’s decision-making processes. 

Co-op junior Teonna Costin picked up a Youth@Work QR code during her lunch wave in hopes of getting a job this summer to be with people her age and explore her career interest. 

Then she headed off to biology class.

She applied last year but had no luck getting picked for the program lottery process. This year she plans to get on the stick for a second chance.

“I’m filling the application out today,” she said. 

Click here for more information on Youth and Rec programs and services.