On a sunny Thursday morning last week, the Boston CAFL Office joined the staff at More Than Words, located in the South End. This outing was part of an ongoing effort to go out into the community as a group and volunteer for a few hours every quarter. In the past, we have supported Community Servings, Cradles to Crayons and the Greater Boston Food Bank.
More Than Words is no ordinary bookselling business, and the people we worked with were no ordinary staff. Young adults between the ages of 16-24, who may be in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or possibly out of school are responsible for keeping the business up and running. These young adults are employed at More Than Words in a 6-12 month program where they receive ongoing support and prepare for meaningful careers of their own. But it is not just a job-training program, it is also a safe space where these youth can focus on themselves and feel empowered as they move forward.
More Than Words hired 290 youth in 2018. At More Than Words, youth are given two jobs: a “Business Job” and a “YOU” Job. The “Business Job” trains youth to process and ship online book orders all over the world, manage a cash register, provide customer service, plan and run events, and pick up book donations. The goal is to gain experience so that eventually, youth facilitate meetings, run shifts, lead their peers, and train new co-workers. The “YOU” Job pays youth to work on self-improvement. Youth develop an education plan, learn about life essentials like finding housing, keeping a budget, and opening a bank account and participate in workshops about employment, education and self-efficacy.[1]
During our time at More than Words, we were placed in their inventory warehouse where we located and moved books to fulfill online orders. Books filled the entire room, reaching the ceiling on 8-foot bookcases. One of the more exciting parts of the process was using library ladders to hunt for books on the highest shelves. Ultimately, these books will be delivered to their buyers through online orders, which is a large part of their bookselling business at More Than Words.
In the end, we were especially pleased to have this opportunity to help support this incredible program. As Boston CAFL team members, we meet and support youth not just through our advocacy in court, but outside in the world where they rise and prepare for the next stages in life. As individuals who frequently witness our clients facing injustices in a broken legal system, we certainly felt the transformational opportunities that More than Words promotes. The simple beauty of task completion was so oddly satisfying, not to mention that sharing an experience like this as an office really brought all of us together as a team. It was a morning very well spent and significant in every sense.
[1] More Than Words Website (https://mtwyouth.org/)