contact | about

Success Stories.

Times Square Ink

Jose:

Jose came to Times Square Ink through a referral from Bronx Parole. Before enrolling in TSI, Jose was incarcerated for many years. Upon enrolling in Times Square Ink, Jose learned how to use a computer, how to set up an email account, and he increased his typing speed. Within a month Jose was hired part time at the Times Square Alliance in Midtown Manhattan. Six months later, Jose was hired full time! He continues to come back to Times Square Ink to help fellow participants enhance their job readiness skills. Jose also participates in monthly alumni meetings at the court. Jose has a turned a corner in his life and is only going forward in his life. He vows to stay out of the criminal justice system and to continue to sustain his employment and save money to rent his own apartment one day soon.

Wayne:

Wayne was formerly incarcerated in a federal prison for ten years. He chose to voluntarily enroll in the Times Square Ink program for assistance with employment services. Soon after enrolling in Times Square Ink, he joined the Fatherhood parenting program. For six weeks Wayne attended the Times Square Ink job training workshops in the morning and the Fatherhood program in the afternoons. Since joining the programs he has significantly increased engagement with his child. He now sees his child on a regular basis and is developing a new, healthy relationship with her. He is also actively working with his job developer to secure employment. In the past week, he has interviewed for four different positions. Wayne is on his way to achieving his goals both with his family and for himself.

Times Square Youth

Ross S.
Ross was inspired to enroll in Times Square Youth after attending a TSY recruitment workshop at the Bronx Goodwill Industries site. He was searching for a job readiness program like Times Square Youth that was geared for young people his age, so he decided to give it a chance! After the first week of TSY he was sold on the program and everything it had to offer him. Ross exclaimed that, “TSY was better than I could have imagined.” He said that he learned how to write a stellar resume, he bonded with other youth who came from similar situations, the staff was supportive, and he felt comfortable and happy to come to TSY each day.
A pivotal moment for Ross was meeting Calder Zwicky, TSY’s partner from the Museum of Modern Art. Calder leads weekly art workshops and facilitates guided tours through the museum with the youth. Ross took it upon himself to show Calder his sketch book of drawings and portraits and Calder was impressed with Ross’s portfolio and encouraged him to apply for the “In the Making: Summer at MoMA” art program. Ross was accepted to the MoMA’s digital animation class where he learned I-Motion and I-Movie animation programs. This was the first formal art class Ross had ever taken. Prior to this experience, he had only dreamed of studying art in the walls of this world renowned cultural institution. Ross said that his fellow young artists and teachers inspired him to expand his artistic repertoire. He stayed after class each day to work on his short animation film. The film was released and exhibited at MoMA’s annual Youth Art Exhibition in August 2008.
After coping with some difficult personal issues prior to coming to TSY, Ross expressed that the combination of TSY and the MoMA summer art program was exactly what he needed. “Things in my life have been tough and TSY and the MoMA gave me a chance to have a positive experience in a new environment.” Ross is now serving on the Youth Advisory Panel at the MoMA and is an active alumni member at TSY. He is currently working at Christie’s Art Auction House and was accepted to the Fine Arts program at Laguardia Community College.

Alex R.:
Alex came to Times Square Youth in December 2006 as a high school drop out, unemployed, with few skills and little direction or support. He recently expressed that he did what he had to do on the streets to get by and survive. He is not proud of his past, but is confident he did the right thing when he came to Times Square Youth. Since enrolling in Times Square Youth his life has dramatically changed for the better. Alex successfully completed Times Square Youth in two months, passed the GED with flying colors and obtained a job at Jamba Juice after being referred by a TSY job developer for an interview. Within six months of passing his GED and working at Jamba Juice, he was promoted to Assistant Manager; two months later he was promoted to Supervising Manager of the store. His income has increased, but more importantly, his confidence in his ability to perform at a high level for a multi-million dollar company has exceeded his wildest dreams. This past summer Alex applied to the Borough of Manhattan Community College. He was accepted and is enrolled in his first semester of college. He said, “I am the first person in my family to go to college and it feels really good.” He works hard both at his school work and at his manager level position. Alex is the perfect example of a young person with so much potential that needed the support, guidance, resources and training to get him on the right track. Times Square Youth provided Alex with those tools. Today Alex works as a Peer Mentor for new Times Square Youth participants. Between going to class and managing the store, he will often stop by and talk to the youth about his work. He is currently trying to set up a time that Times Square Youth can come for an employer visit in the next few months.
Alex has already accomplished so much in the two short years since he first came through the doors of Times Square Youth. It is clear he is going far and has much more to achieve.