FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Eddie Howard grew up hard.
His childhood home in Houston, Texas burned down in a fire. He didn't meet his father until he was eight years old and has rarely seen him since. His teenage sister – pregnant at the time – was killed by a drunk driver while walking across the street.
Still his mom Ann Howard said, “Eddie was a jolly kid, very happy; he loved life, loved sports, loved to sing.”
But when he was 16, something inside him changed.
“All my friends were getting arrested, involved in gangs,” Eddie Howard said. “[His arrest] kind of set me on the path where I found myself juggling both worlds – going to school and doing sports, and then coming and being involved in gang activities.”
Howard turned to crime and was soon sentenced to 14 years in prison for armed robbery. Not only that, he was sent to the state penitentiary in Walla Walla – the same prison where his father had spent time.
He said he continued to be involved in gangs for the first few years of his sentence.
But fellow prisoners in the Black Prisoners Caucus befriended Howard and challenged him to do something positive with all the negativity in his life.
“They began to show me the importance of purpose, the importance of giving back to the community, getting out, and helping build back what I helped to destroy,” Howard said.
Now, Howard does just that – mentoring teenagers in Federal Way through a King County program called Credible Messenger. It’s credible because the adults in it were at-risk kids themselves.
“My mentor in prison used to tell me, ‘Sometimes it takes somebody to see something in you that you don't yet see in yourself,’” Howard said. “It’s heartbreaking to see and hear these traumatic stories, realities that kids are still suffering today – generational curses – some things your family has been through that are passed down to you.”
“And to know the consequences,” Howard continued, “I see the same thing in the youth I’m serving today.”
Credible Messenger provides food to kids who are hungry and provides job training and positive mentorship.
“Part of our curriculum is not just job readiness, not just ‘how do you get the job?’ but ‘how do you keep the job? How do you create value for yourself?’ and ‘how do you ultimately end up giving back to your community?’” Howard said.
Credible Messenger serves kids all over the country and throughout King County, from Federal Way, Kent, and Auburn to South Seattle and North Seattle.
If you have a teenager or are a teenager who might need their help, you can connect with the King County chapter of Credible Messenger on their Facebook page.