Tim Johnson 

I can recall, our kind of first house. Sheriff came by, man, and I was asleep and told us to grab our stuff, it's time to go. I can remember these guys coming in and just grabbing all of our stuff. I mean mixing in kitchen appliances with clothes, with things from the living room, just whatever they could grab. Fill the bags and throwing them out. And so it was very traumatic.

Paul Meunier 

Hello, I'm Paul Meunier, the executive director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association. And I'm a youth worker at heart. How lucky am I, I have the privilege to meet youth workers from around the globe and learn their stories and share them with the entire world. I'm glad you're listening, because together we'll learn how their life experiences shape their youth work. As you listen, I encourage you to consider how your experiences shape what you have to offer young people. Welcome to this edition of The Passionate Youth Worker. Hi, everybody, for this episode, we're joined by Tim Johnson from Washington State here in the United States. Tim started with humble beginnings but through strong values and perseverance he went on to complete college, and is now the AmeriCorps program coordinator with Federal Way Public Schools. Tim, thanks for being a guest on the podcast.

Tim Johnson 

Thank you. Thank you, Paul. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here to have this conversation.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, me too. Tim. Tim, you grew up in poverty. We talked a little bit about that as we were getting to know each other and your family found itself homeless from time to time. Can you just talk about your early years and what all that was like for you?

Tim Johnson 

Absolutely, yeah. Growing up in a small town, Phoenix City, Alabama, I just can still recall being nomadic. We never really stayed in a house, apartment, for no more than I would say three to four years. We were just constantly moving. And majority of those moves were us being evicted. I can recall, coming home from school and seeing our stuff out in the yard or in the apartment complex where everybody parks in parking stalls, just in trash bags that I can recall, our kind of first house, sheriff came by man and I was asleep and told us to grab our stuff, it's time to go. I can remember these guys coming in and just grabbing all of our stuff. I mean, mixing in kitchen appliances with clothes, with things from the living room, just whatever they could grab, fill the bags, throwing them out. And so, it was very traumatic. I don't know, man, it's a story that I feel, you know, it's kind of close to my heart in the sense that it set a lot of guidelines for me going through that. But also, you know, my mom and my dad were just amazing throughout that. especially my mom. I really can recall those days where she was spending time and praying and finding some way just to find a another smile on her face, right? And just wouldn't look like things that we were going through. Really grounded me within my faith and just seeing her. From there, man, you talked about having fun, Paul, like just not realizing. I knew we had it bad. I didn't know how bad we had. Right? Just having fun with my family man. And just being a small little country boy from a small little country place being outside, running around playing football, having fun with friends. It was it was the worst of times and the best of times, man.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, I can hear that. You know, as young people, we often don't realize the impact of what we're going through because it just seems normal. It seems typical because you don't know anything else. But you talk fondly of your parents. What are your mom and dad like? How did they help you through all that or what did they tell you when you were getting evicted? How did all that go?

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, man, what I learned in that is work ethic from my father, right? Regardless of the situations, he would get up and go to work. It can be very depressing at times, right? Just that sad mode but he was always nope, I gotta I got to pick up and go. Just learning that and that work ethic. And then also just from my mom of no matter how bad it gets, right, we still have empowerment and control in the sense of us. And so, I really learned from her not labeling myself by my situation. Just because I am experiencing poverty that does not mean that I have to go divert to situations or make decisions that are going to permanently have a lot of consequences. There was so many times, Paul, that I was attracted to money, right? So, I could get us out of this situation and get myself out. And those options at that time where I would say were not the best of decisions. I learned that from her, just watching her like, okay, you know, I can't justify my position to then devalue somebody else's life, right for my come up, or my gain for my family. And so, there was a real moral foundation that I really gained from my mom watching her.

Paul Meunier 

That's what I've learned about you, you have such a strong, I don't know how to even describe it kind of a moral footing that you've got staked down about all the decisions you make. And all the things you do are based on your morals. When you were younger, and you were tempted to try to get money, and I'm sure you had the opportunity to do things that maybe weren't the best decisions for you or other people. Did you get into trouble or were you able to stay out of trouble because you had those strong moral values?

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, yeah, I was able to stay out. Because at the end of the day, I knew that's not who she's raising me to be. That's not the man that my father is gearing me to be. And so even though you know, it was it was attractive, Paul, it was, it was a lot, right. But, you know, the end of the day I said, No. That kept me out of a lot of trouble. And so, I doubled down in football, man. I remember, you know, being in middle my school just like it happened yesterday. We was doing an assignment. We had just got evicted, got kicked out and so we were living with my auntie. And I remember drawing and writing goals on my notepad, you know. I'm going to make it to the NFL, and we're not going to have to lose our lights, right, we're going to have cars that work, and the gas is always going to be full with the oil change. I'm never gonna eat canned meat again. And we're going to make sure that my mom has clothes, because she always recycled her clothes. Make sure my dad has what he needs, you know. All these things, man and my brothers and my sister I remember just crying at my desk during math, tear drops just hitting my paper and saying, Yeah, I'm going to do this. And I doubled down. And so, my morals and athletics. And when I got laser focus, right, that was it, man. I didn't have time to play around or do any extracurricular activities that my peers were getting into. At the time. I was like, No, man, athlete or morally, it's my faith, you know, I am not doing that. So, it did, it kept me out a lot of things.

Paul Meunier 

That's great. So, your family just sounds like wonderful people. So here they are, your dad's working hard. You guys are church going people grounded in faith, and you're having these awful things happen to you on a repeated basis. But it seems like least you, I can't speak for your parents but I gotta believe it's probably true, you're not a bitter person, you're not an angry person, you're a hopeful person, you're a person that wants to give back. Is that because of your faith or because of your parents or is it just a personality trait? How did you come out of that with just this incredibly gifted ability to want to just make the world a better place?

Tim Johnson 

I think it was a combination of all of that, man, to be honest with him. There were times where, you know, grounded in my faith and learning, you know, it's not about me, right. And that it’s about the hope in the possibility of things could change. Right? Things could be different. And a lot of that was coming from my mom and my dad, and work ethic. I mean, they did not stop, Paul. You know, as an adult now, I really do appreciate that value. And having kids? Man, I got kids, right. And so, it's like, Man, how the heck did they do that? Right. And so, yeah, absolutely. I think it's a combination of all adults, man. I knew that deep down a lot of people could easily label, easily label and I could easily do things. But I was like, Ah, I'm not the situation. You know, this is a situation and this doesn't have to define me. So, there's a lot of influences there for me.

Paul Meunier 

It's an amazing story. And the resilience and the perseverance that you have shown, and your family has shown, is just remarkable. And a side note, it's just so sad that we have a society setup where people can bust their butts trying to raise their family and still not have enough money to make rent and end up getting kicked out and having the sheriff threw stuff out in the parking lot. Something is just fundamentally wrong with that. Yeah. But you were talking about your legacy. You didn't say legacy, but you're saying that's not who I am, that's not how I want to do so. And your legacy is important to you, and how would you describe what you want your legacy to be?

Tim Johnson 

I want my legacy to be one of having impact, man. I really am in that in the sense that I've done something to help somebody along their journey. Whether it be just me accepting them, acknowledging them, supporting them. I want that, man. I really find that in our society, it feels like it's very money focus-driven, right. And to me, whether you have money or do not, there's a deeper God, right? There's a deeper foundation there. Whether you categorize the success however it is for you. So, for me, that impact again, it goes out. So just the more foundation and I want to have impact, I had impact as a kid growing in poverty. I still had my friends, even though I was coming to school in the same clothes the same week, and I remember borrowing shoes, I remember borrowing cleats, finding cleats in the trash can because we know we can afford them. And I will wear them and just smash my toes, like I was a wide receiver. And so, anybody that understands that route running shoes that aren’t a fit just is painful, right? So even through all of that, man, I still remember, you know, I didn't steal, right. I couldn't take something from somebody else. I would still support and help people. And I was impactful. Like I was helping my friends, I was helping other people in the community even though I didn't have. And putting people on to different opportunities, jobs, and all kinds of different things. And so I said, Man, if I could do that without money, then as I get money, absolutely. And that's it, man, I really want that to be like I changed the world, or at least one person at a time, somehow, some way.

Paul Meunier 

Sounds like you already are building legacy just in the work you're doing the work you were doing as a young person, the example that you set for everybody else, is certainly establishing a legacy of humility, caring, and just a passion to help other people. It's, you're a remarkable person, Tim. When you first got into youth work, did you know right away like this was going to be something for you or how did you get into youth work?

Tim Johnson 

Oh, my first pass? Yeah, great. No, I had no clue. So, I just had graduated from college. I was a first-generation college student. So, man, just all kinds of bumps and bruises along the way. But I just finished graduation. And my friend who's also a guy that I played football with at Troy University. He told me about this job out in this group home, right. I wasn't even familiar with a group home. What is that? So, this is this this thing, man out here in the middle of the woods where they have all these kids and you just watch them right? And I was Like, okay. He's like, it pays pretty good. It's a job that paid every week, right, paid about $700, $800. And so my rent at the time was $225. Right? So, I was like, oh, yeah, okay, that sounds good to me. So I'll put an application and went down there. And oh, my gosh, man, I just fell in love with it. It was one of those experiences that really had an impact on me. And the reason why was that every single young man that I was serving, I was like, man, the things that y'all did, I did those exact same things, right. Like, the only difference is, man, you guys got caught and I didn't, right. So even though I had you know that moral guideline and things, I wasn't perfect. I was really captivated by that and just wanted to help them. And that was the kind of like, let me look into this. Especially when I started seeing that had impact, man. That we had kids who were 10 years old, who are just full-blown alcoholics. We had 15-16 year-olds with children, and they're asking me about being married and having a girl and being a dad like, Well, I'm not a dad, I can't speak to into that. But what I saw, man, was just these young men who were who were starving and wanted direction. They’re little knuckleheads at the same time, right? I'm not perfect. But I don't know, it was something that I saw impact in that I was having an impact. That was kind of like the, oh, this is a career. This is a thing, right? I can let me continue this and go a little bit further. It was awesome.

Paul Meunier 

That's a cool story. And it's a great way to leave a legacy. So yeah, absolutely. You're doing it. Yeah, Tim, we have to take a short break but when we come back, I want to talk a little bit about your relationship with young people. So we'll be right back.

Jade Schleif 

No matter how you support our young people, The Professional Youth Worker, powered by YIPA, has your training and learning needs covered. Visit training.yipa.org. That's training.yipa.org to see for yourself. And then join the 1000s of youth workers around the globe who learn from our easy-to-access exceptional trainings. From our blogs to our podcast, The Professional Youth Worker is your go-to resource for tools to help you keep going, keep learning, and keep growing. Members enjoy free unlimited access to Live Online and On-Demand trainings, and a preferred discount pricing for our one-of-a-kind certificate course. Annual memberships are ridiculously affordable for individuals and organizations. Visit training.yipa.org today to learn more. That's training.yipa.org.

Paul Meunier 

Tim, right before the break, you were telling us about your adventure into youth work and how you found it just a passion for right away. I got to believe your story and your experiences as a young person living in poverty, moving around from place to place. Sadly, that story isn't that unique in our world today. Matter of fact it's kind of common, especially for people of color. And people in the south and you know, a variety of places. So, I bet you have just a unique way of connecting with young people because you know what they're going through, a lot of them.

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I can empathize man. The state that I'm in now, right, in Washington, is completely different from the south. Similarities, right, but also just major differences. And one of those, to me, is just where I am now, man, is the uniqueness of the youth here. They are so open and relationship-based. Whereas I felt like as adolescents, you have to put in a little bit more work, right? To gain that trust. So I really do, I do think it's a unique space here. The kids are awesome. The community is amazing. And I think if you have that, that willingness to just get past some of those barriers, man, of which absolutely shouldn't be there, right. We're adults working with kids, and they don't know us. You know, we got to gain that trust. But I do find, you know, that persistence and being willing to jump into their world, I dive headfirst into that world and let them teach me, you know, and expand my horizon. So, yeah, I do. I love it. It's amazing. And it's challenging, every day is completely different. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah. What does success in youth work look like to you, Tim? How do you know you've done a good job?

Tim Johnson 

You know, I look at the young person that's in front of me, man. I can recall this young man I was working with. And he was just so just resistant, right. And the person that was over the AmeriCorps program at that time was Monda Holsinger. She taught us to look for the small wins, right? It's not always in these grandioso moments but it's in the small things. So, it felt silly to me, Paul, but I was like, you know, I'm gonna celebrate the small wins. And so, I can recall one time, you know, taking him out and just trying to get him to do his work, right. This worksheet is algebra worksheet and he would not do it. And so, one day, he finally, he just put his name on the paper. And I made a huge big deal, right, about it. Right. So, she told us, you got to lose your cool card, right? So, he put his name down. And I was like, Yes, let's go, man. Thank you for doing that. Like, dude, we're gonna rock this out, man. I'm so excited. She did. And he's looking at me like, man, what is wrong with you, sir? And he just started laughing. And I started laughing, right? And he's like, Mr. Tim you so silly. And I was like, Hey, man, I'm trying. I believe in you. That broke the ice. But that was like, Paul, that was day number five, or six, right? We finally broke in and he opened up to me and he said, Man usually Mr. Tim, adults by now would have given up and you just won't give up. And he's like, I can't keep doing this to you I'll do the work. Let's do it. He's like, but I don't know what I'm doing. I say, Hey, bro, it's okay. I got you. And from there, man, from there. So, what I look at man is the small wins, you got to start with the small wins. If it's a name on the paper, it's a name on the paper. If it's a conversation, you know, if I see effort, and also if I know that a small drop is a deposit every single day. If I can make that deposit, I know right, at some point, somehow, someway, it'll have impact. Obviously, I look at what I do, Paul. It's cool if we get that affirmation, that kind of receipt of Oh, thank you so much. Sometimes that doesn't, it doesn't happen with every young person we work with but if we can continue to make those deposits, like that's it. So I look at my effort. Did I give it my all today? Did I have that conversation?

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, you're so humble, Tim. That sounds like a big win to me. If it was the fifth or sixth time, and finally puts his name on the paper, and you know, you make a big deal about it. But then he says to you, I don't know what I'm doing, which is where the resistance was coming from all along. And you just broke that barrier down. It wasn't that he was going to be just didn't want to be defiant. He just didn't want to look dumb, right? He just didn't want to admit that I just don't know how to do this stuff. To me, that sounds like a big success, Tim. In this work too you, you learn a lot about yourself. I'm wondering, what have you learned about Tim, as being a youth worker?

Tim Johnson 

Oh, wow. That's a good question. I've learned that I have resilience. And it's affirming, man. I didn't know that I was that resilient. I've learned that, that I care that the level of care and positivity that I have, people always mentioned, like my positivity, my passion, like, oh, man, Tim you so passionate, so positive, you got a lot of energy. And sometimes I just don't see that right. I'm being me. And I'm an introvert. So, people will think that I'm just super extroverted, right, and I'm not at all. I'm shy. My stomach was turning for this interview. Like, I have this nervous energy and I think that what I've learned about me, is just that I don't allow those things to stop me, right. I may not know what I'm doing, but I'm gonna give it my all. And I think that, man, doing this youth service in this youth work I really do think I got more in me than what I originally kind of thought to myself. And kids have a great way of giving you feedback. Sometimes we don't get that feedback.

Paul Meunier 

It's pretty straightforward usually.

Tim Johnson 

It's straightforward, Paul. It is straightforward. It's straightforward. You don't have to guess they'll let you know. But yeah, I'll say that man. Just my resilience.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, you keep learning, you keep growing, and you keep overcoming all these challenges. And I can tell you're just a person that's a lifelong learner, always trying to get better at what you do. Always trying to run that better route each time, right? And you think it’s trying to do that, build that better relationship, or make that better connection faster, or whatever that it is. So, you challenge yourself in life. What is one of the big challenges you're taking on right now in terms of you as a person? What are you trying to get better at? What are you trying to work on?

Tim Johnson 

Honestly, I'll be honest with you, man, I'm trying to work on systems and organization. Our program, and what I do, exists within the school system. I'm finding and trying to utilize the system. How do I leverage that and that for me takes organization. And I'm a guy that I love to be out with people, do not want to be behind a computer all day. And a lot of what I do is behind the computer, a lot of times all day. So, just finding my pace, man, within it and connect what I do to the bigger picture. That's what I say I'm tackling is connecting my work, because it's not as direct. And I miss that. But then also my organization, just to be completely 100% honest with you, man. I am not as organized as I would like to be, but I'm making my way. I'll make it.

Paul Meunier 

if I was a betting person I'd say a few years from now, you're probably gonna be pretty organized.

Tim Johnson 

Hey, I hope, I appreciate that! Man, I hope so. Yeah, better be. Shucks!

Paul Meunier 

Hey Tim, are your mom and dad still with us? Are they still around?

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, yeah. My dad is in Syracuse. He's happily remarried. And my mom is in Atlanta. Yeah, Atlanta, Georgia. Yeah.

Paul Meunier 

So, I hope you share this with them. I hope you share this podcast with them. Because I got to believe they must be super proud of you. You are such a giving person, so full of energy. Despite being an introvert, you don't come across that way. And you are really leaving a legacy. It's already being established, and you're changing lives. And you've already changed a lot of lives. And I gotta believe coming from those humble beginnings your parents just must be beaming when they think about what you're trying to do with your life. They instilled all the right values in you.

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, I hope so man, and I definitely will. I want them to be proud and more so I just, I don't know, encourage everybody out there, man. Like, just because if you come from poverty, that doesn't mean that you have to stay in it. It's not something that you have to stay within or make decisions based on. There's other decisions that you can make and other avenues to take and so take them. You know what I mean? Take them, man. And it's not easy either way. It wasn't easy at all. But I hope, Paul, I hope that they are proud. They're proud and I know that they are. But I really do want to share this with them and more. So, I'm excited to share this with my other family members and other folks, man. Just in case, I hope this is an encouragement, man, for everybody.

Paul Meunier 

That's right. Your story is one of hope and optimism. And anybody who listens to this is going to realize that we can overcome just about anything if we have the drive and determination and the support around us to keep us focused and encouraged and confident that we can do what we need to do. So, if your mom and dad are listening right now, I'd like to say, Hey, good job you guys! You raised one heck of a son and he's out there doing great things in this world. So, Tim, thanks for diving into youth work and giving back to your community and giving back to young people. I'm really grateful that you and I got to know each other, and I'm thankful for the work that you do. So, thank you for being a guest on the podcast.

Tim Johnson 

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Paul. And thank you for sharing your platform and also for YIPA. Thank you so much for YIPA! It has helped us so much. Gosh, the trainings that you guys do is just so vital, is so key. And I've learned a lot. I was able to attach the proper language to my experience because of YIPA. So, I appreciate you guys. Thank you so much.

Paul Meunier 

Thank you, Tim. Before we go, what words of wisdom or inspiration would you like to leave with the listeners?

Tim Johnson 

I would say the thing to continue to keep going it's important that you get fed, get fed so that you can go feed. And that's a concept that I learned up here from local artists here in Seattle. The concept, man, is just you got to get to a place of nourishment, physical, mental, spiritual. Within this work, so much of it is just catering and supporting and servicing youth. And so that's a pour out, right, and so in order to continue to do that in a healthy way where you can avoid codependency and such. So so important y'all. If y'all hear me man just get fed, get fed so you can go feed. It's okay to take time. And you have to. I did not do that properly. I thought that was escapism so I would get on social media and scroll right after work and just try to escape from the day and that may relieve but that's not important. So, I would say be intentional, man. Just get in and get nutrients, right? It's one thing to eat, another thing to gain nutrients from what you eat. So, get fed so you can go feed.

Paul Meunier 

if you would like to share your passion for youth work, we'd love to spotlight you as a guest. If you have feedback about the show, please let us know. Just visit training.yipa.org That's training.yipa.org and click on the podcast tab. This podcast is made possible in part due to a generous contribution from M Health Fairview. I'm your host Paul Meunier. Thanks for listening to The Passionate Youth Worker.