How a Former Government Social Worker Found a Better Way to Help Troubled Youth as a Charity Leader

ENTRY LEVEL

Miller R. Anderson

Age: 50

First job: Case manager, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Chicago

Current job: President, Chicago Youth Centers

I grew up on Chicago’s Near West Side, in a neighborhood that had a reputation as a haven for street-gang and drug activity. My childhood wasn’t unhappy, but in that raw, urban environment, I saw a lot of people — young and old alike — who had given up hope of creating a better life for themselves. I was very fortunate. I was surrounded by caring family and adults who worked hard to provide opportunities for my future. There also was a Chicago Youth Center in my neighborhood that gave me opportunities to achieve and be recognized.

And now I’ve come full circle. In the same neighborhood where I once lived, I now am privileged to be the head of Chicago Youth Centers, an organization dedicated to providing safe havens for kids growing up in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods.

CYC inspired me to see a future where I could make things better for myself and for others. That is still what motivates my work in the nonprofit sector: the belief that even one caring adult can help end the repetitive cycle of broken dreams by teaching kids to create their own possibilities. The first place I saw that belief in action was at CYC, and the experience ultimately had a lifelong impact on my career choices.

I earned a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and then a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, determined to devote myself to helping others. I started out as a social worker at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, advancing from case manager to field-services administrator during the 16 years I spent there. My job, which put me in contact with people from a wide variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, taught me to always strive to find common ground with people. Everyone has issues to resolve and difficulties to overcome. Everyone wants to be part of a family, whether that is defined by shared blood, faith, or ideology. I quickly learned that if I wanted to help people, I had to accept them based on where they were, not where I wanted them to be.

Other early experiences that helped define my career were the situations that required me to remove children from their homes. I saw children who were victims of abuse and neglect, children who were often afraid, children who didn’t have caring parents. But those things didn’t make the separation process less traumatic. We did what we had to do for the sake of the children, but taking them from everything they knew and placing them with strangers was a scary proposition to me. It still is.

I am proud of the fact that at CYC we work very hard to keep families intact by providing crisis intervention, counseling, and family activities for children and families in need. Often we succeed, but we never lose sight of the fact that the child’s welfare is our top priority, so we also recruit and license foster care and adoptive homes.

Although social work was fulfilling, I eventually left because I thought that I could have a more positive impact on children by working toward a community-driven mission rather than a government mandate.

Government-provided social services play a legitimate role in our communities, but they fall far short of doing all that can be done to help people realize their full potential. The emphasis of government programs is on ensuring that basic services are provided to those in need, which means that most programs can offer only minimum standards of human-development resources. It also means that children and families are only eligible to receive those services if they can show that they have a problem or an unmet need.

But community-based nonprofit organizations can reach out to everyone. Children and families don’t need to be in dire straits to benefit from their programs and services. Nonprofit organizations are part of the community they serve, so the programs they offer are driven by the priorities and needs of the community. Programs can be tailored to meet individual needs. Clients are viewed as family members. And most importantly, community-based programs can build on people’s strengths rather than focus on their shortcomings. These characteristics allow nonprofit social-service providers to be much more proactive and have a much greater impact than government programs can achieve.

After leaving the Department of Children and Family Services, I worked with several social-service organizations, gradually moving toward my goal of working more directly with kids. Finally, I was selected two years ago to run CYC, the youth organization I had attended as a child. CYC serves more than 11,000 children and teenagers each year, more than half of them from single-parent-headed households. I work with an annual operating budget of $11-million, a staff of approximately 250, and more than 2,000 volunteers. I love my job. Seeing young people participating in programs at our neighborhood centers — having fun while they learn and achieve — is truly inspirational.

Not everyone is cut out for the nonprofit sector. The work is sometimes grueling and emotionally demanding in a way that can leave some people frustrated and disillusioned. But the rewards are great: My “product” is people and the stuff of their lives. Anyone considering a career in the nonprofit sector needs to take time to evaluate his or her true motivations. If you’ve done that and you’re still not sure, get involved as a volunteer with a local charity. You’ll get firsthand experience, and you can be sure that your time and energy will be appreciated.

No matter what your level of experience, the most important thing you bring to the work is yourself. Whether you’re a college student still researching your options, or an established professional thinking about making a career change, you have skills, knowledge, and life experiences that young people can learn from. And at the end of the day, chances are that you will have learned from them too.

How did your first job in the nonprofit world shape your current career? Tell us about it at entrylevel@philanthropy.com.