A couple of months ago, I wrote about the story of a young man who I named Darius. The post was titled “Orphans of the Mass Incarceration Epidemic.” I received quite a few e-mails from folks who read that piece and wanted to share their own stories. Mainly though, you wrote to let me know that you hoped I would offer periodic updates about Darius. I asked him about that and he told me: “If the people want to know, then let the people know.” I am afraid that Darius is overestimating the number of the “people” who read this little blog. Nevertheless….

I received great news over the weekend. Darius has been accepted into a summer apprenticeship program that will offer him a stipend while he learns valuable computer and other technical skills. Special thanks to my friend Maurice for ensuring that Darius got his application completed and in on time to qualify for this opportunity.

Darius lives on the East Coast but young people everywhere are really struggling to access summer employment this year. Opportunities are never great but this year is particularly dismal. Just yesterday, Natalie Moore from WBEZ reported that 89% of black teens in Chicago are unemployed. The city of Chicago which offered 17,000 jobs in 2010 will only offer 14,000 this summer. There are nearly 220,000 young people between the ages of 12 to 17 living in the city of Chicago. Do the math!

When I asked Darius about what he would have been doing had he not had the apprenticeship opportunity this summer, his answer was instructive: “Probably playing video games and running the streets getting into trouble.” Out of the mouths of babes, we always get to the truth.

So Darius will spend his summer learning skills that I hope will be put to use as he continues his education and perhaps even in the world of work. I have been around long enough to know that this is not a guarantee that he will make it out of high school or that he might actually get through college. But I am celebrating the small victories. I am savoring the baby steps that might help expose him to a different world and that might open up new doors for him. No one can dream something bigger for you than you can. But I am hopeful that with more support and encouragement as well as access to concrete resources, that Darius has more of a chance to succeed than he did without these things. I am holding my breath for the many Dariuses in my life. I am waiting to exhale.