What happens when the young get chances

Tyrique Glasgow grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood in South Philly, an area riddled with high crime rates and regular shootings on the streets.

He was only eight years old when he lost his uncle to gun violence. By fifteen, Tyrique was in control of an entire block's drug deals. Which ended up having its consequences – he was shot multiple times and eventually went to jail.

• “When you run a block, like, you are the face. You’re the one who that community of people know. You set rules and boundaries,” Tyrique, now 39, said. “It’s a dangerous life, but it’s a normal life.”

🙏 But then... It was in jail that Tyrique had a major change of heart. And upon his release from prison in 2011, he was approached by a young boy in the neighborhood who asked him to coach their flag football team. He agreed.

• Tyrique spent the next few months working with boys in the neighborhood and coaching the team. After seeing firsthand the effects a positive role model could have on kids, he branched out and started a dance team for girls in the same area.
• “I got tired of my community following me in a negative direction and I wanted them to follow me in a positive direction,” he said. “The kids really gave me a purpose.”

❤️ Chance the Rapper Tyrique the Chancer... One year later, Tyrique founded the Young Chances Foundation, an organization with a mission to help give young people the chance for a better life. And over the past decade, he's dedicated himself to the mission, starting summer camps, after-school programs, and even opening a first-of-its-kind community center for the neighborhood in a former drug house. 

• “The same [people] that we were giving negative stuff to, now we can give positive resources,” he shared of the community center that distributes basic necessities to anyone in need free of charge. 

🦸‍♂️ Real heroes, no capes: For all of the work he's done to foster youth development in his neighborhood, Tyrique was recently honored as one of CNN's 10 Heroes of the Year.