TRACY TATE JONES
Tracy L. Tate Jones, is the founder and President of Beat the Streets, Inc. She is a San Francisco native who moved to Pittsburg in 2005 when the opportunity to purchase her first home was presented. It was also an opportunity to move her son, who was 14 years old at that time, to a new start. As a single mother, it was not easy raising a young man in the City, especially one who had recently lost his father to gun violence.
When the mother and son moved to Pittsburg, it became very apparent that the neighborhood she purchased her house in had some issues with the local youth. They were hanging out on the block, running up to cars to sell drugs and skipping school. Tracy knew she had better do something, after all, she had an impressionable young man at home. The youth immediately took a liking to her son, but also to her. They were very respectful, although doing not so respectful things. Within a few month of moving to Pittsburg, it had become a regular occurrence that the young men would come over to her house to play video game, have family outings and spending holidays with her and her son. Tracy found herself mentoring and guiding the youth to want more out of life and for their futures. She began helping them with homework, job searches and eventually starting Beat the Streets, Inc., thus the name to keep them off the streets. Eventually, they began volunteering for the organization to fund outings, group meals, etc.. They had become a neighborhood family. The services offered by Beat the Streets, Inc. are a direct reflection of the services provided to the young people from her neighborhood. They identified their needs and the needs of their peers, which has shaped the core values of the organization. Still today, Tracy stays in touch with many of the youth, who are now fathers, mothers, entrepreneurs, and of the working class. |