Strength of Steel

On Thursday night I attended the 10-year anniversary celebration for an organization in Pittsburgh called Steel Smiling. It reminded me why we should never lose sight of those we impact, those we serve, and those who feel every ripple of every step we take. Change takes courage, but it is necessary and can be as simple as the first stone in the pond that creates a ripple.

A quote that inspired the founder of Steel Smiling put it best:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” - Henry Ford

In 2017, I was somehow named one of Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40. The class of inductees I was part of was incredible. Advocates, leadership, scientists... and as a part of that class was a guy named Julius Boatwright. He was just a couple of years into having launched Steel Smiling, an organization aimed at bridging the gap between Black community members and mental health support through education, advocacy, and awareness. His impact was already being felt. That stone in the pond, well the ripple was quickly expanding.

Over the next few years, his name kept popping up, and in 2020 we were paired up to host a 'Dinner with Twelve,' a Pitt Alumni Association offering where alumni take out a group of students for an intimate discussion on career development and personal growth. Always having to be extra, I asked if I could instead host a brunch, which Pitt obliged. Julius, ever the team player, was more than happy to co-host with me.

At that brunch, we learned about the students and each other. We both had social work backgrounds, had pivoted in our careers early on when life gave us little choice, and wanted to better the world we were in. After that event, we connected more regularly.

I learned more about Steel Smiling, and when the pandemic landed on our doorstep, I was able to contribute to the organization as an inaugural board member. Julius pushed through the pandemic limitations, continuing to bring Beams to Bridges - a 6 month comprehensive mental health training and education program - to community members in Pittsburgh. He never lost sight of his mission, never lost sight of what could be and step by step kept moving forward.

Steel Smiling eventually partnered with Neighborhood Allies, becoming an Organization-in-Residence, a program designed to nurture the organizational growth, capacity building and sustainability. The Board deferred to the new organization arrangement and I had a chance to watch the organization blossom through new support and the addition of amazing team members like Courtney Abegunde, Robin Sheffy, Cheyenne Campbell, and Meleak Potter. Shawn Edward Thomas was brought in to lead Steel Healing, including the Black Mental Health Fund, Peer Support, and Wellness Navigation Services.

Along the way, more than anything, I appreciated that Julius never shied away from discussing his own mental health journey. Over breakfast we would chat about non-profit tax reporting and then slip into a discussion on how our pets were bringing us comfort at times of strain and sadness. When he lost his mother late last year, he shared the struggles with navigating grief and loss. Transparency and strategic vulnerability evident in every step he takes.

Thursday, the room at August Wilson Center rapidly filled with community members, local healers and advocates, family and friends. The joy, hope and drive to continue this work reverberated through every hug and handshake. When one of Julius's mentors struggled to get through his comments without emotion, Julius stepped up on the stage, stood near his friend and colleague, and assured him that there was safety to feel those feelings.

I left that night in awe of those I had encountered. I left sad that we are a world that requires those who have been systemically oppressed find their own way out of that oppression. I left hopeful that voices are being heard that once where muffled and silenced. I left yearning to learn more about all of the things I failed to see on a daily basis, the beauty in the moments around me that tend to be glanced over. I left wondering, what now?

What now? Well, Julius is going to move forward, into new focus areas, while mentoring and supporting Courtney, the new Managing Director for Steel Smiling. Steel Smiling is going to launch new efforts to breakdown the underlying segregation that rivers and bridges can unconsciously, and sometimes consciously, cause in a city like Pittsburgh.

And, for me, the challenge becomes how do I inject just a fraction of that passion, that purpose, that drive into change I can influence? The answer, by not being afraid.

So I leave this week's entry with this quote by Veronica Roth.

"Some people will always fear change. But we can't indulge them."