When a man has climbed to the peak of the mountain as Joseph Grenny has done as co-founder of a respected corporate training and organizational development company, Vital Smarts, there is only one thing to do in his case, and that is to climb a different mountain.
Joseph Grenny is our neighbor. He and his wife, Celia, have been heavily involved in bringing to Utah a program he saw 10 years ago at Delancey Street in San Francisco. Patterning it after that program, they named the Utah program The Other Side Academy.
There are many needs in society that government institutions often cannot find resources to cover. This is when the private sector can step in and provide needed programs. If run properly, they can lend a helping hand. TOSA is certainly one of those programs.
"It is a two-year minimum program that helps criminals, the homeless and substance abusers change their lives, free of charge," Grenny explained. "TOSA is a nonprofit and is run as a self-help community, giving people the opportunity to learn how to live in a family situation where the burdens of daily living are shared. The men and women live separately, and proper conduct is expected, as it is in all their doings."
Those involved in the program live in a large historic home near 600 East and 100 South in Salt Lake City. Currently, the students help run a moving company and a food truck, among other duties, as a way to learn a new way of living. Grenny said there are even plans to continue to find ways to keep them on track and employed after they finish the program.
They work hard at whatever job they are assigned, gaining confidence in themselves as they progress from freshmen to sophomores, juniors to graduates. There is no time limit. It comes when they successfully meet their requirements.
Celia Grenny said the program starts with the basics, including teaching students to shake hands and look people in the eye with honesty, something she said most had forgotten how to do.
The Grennys invited my husband, Grit, and I to attend a recent graduation ceremony. It was a very special event as, having only been opened since last year, it was the first time there would be sophomores graduating to juniors.
We were served a delicious salad, bread and a plate of spaghetti cooked and served by the students. Then the program began.
The men had on shirts and ties, and the women wore the best they had. Looking at them clean-shaven and dressed appropriately, a person would never guess the trauma and trials they had been through. And here they were, for the first time in many years, full of hope once more.
As the graduation proceeded, all cheered and applauded as the participants were awarded their advancements. Some were singled out for leadership responsibilities, and there was a great sense of camaraderie without any envy. It was as though they saw through others a hope that they could also be chosen themselves at some point.
The sophomores were given a new pair of sneakers, proudly holding their boxes up to show the crowd. They had worked hard for that pair of shoes. The juniors received a jacket with the TOSA emblem on the back.
As we were riding back to Provo with the Grennys, Grit asked how the neighborhood was accepting the program. Joseph Grenny told us the neighborhood is overjoyed at the improvement TOSA has made in refurbishing the historic home. They also are finding the residents to be both pleasant and helpful, participating as neighbors who care and will come to the aid of people who have needs and problems.
There are 55 students now involved in the program, rather than continuing lives in jail, homeless or struggling with substance abuse. It is a good start and certainly one that needs to be given an opportunity to show just what can be accomplished.
For additional information about the program, visit theothersideacademy.com.
Email: sasy273@gmail.com