Meet Taetz
This is the fourth in a series of posts about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. See first post. See next post.
NAME: Taetz, M.
Alias: “Hibachi Slim”
D.O.B: 05/94
LOCATION: Roanoke, VA
PSYCH EVAL: Experienced family trauma in youth. Wary of the past, but optimistic and engaging. Hates to sit still.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Tall, brown eyes, black hair that he keeps in a ponytail.
ABILITIES: Sense of adventure combined with great ability to improvise; makes a perfect carbonara sauce; loving father to two sons.
DETAILS OF CASE
Taetz was born in Roanoke, Virginia. After a brief stint in XXXXXXXX, he moved back to Roanoke at age 14. The father of two sons, XXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXX, Taetz is highly motivated to overcome the desertion of his father, who left when he was young. His mother, who according to firsthand reports was a “raging alcoholic who put her problems on everyone else,” added to his childhood instability.
Taetz grew up having to navigate the thin line between boyish mischief and delinquency without the benefit of supportive parents. He earned his nickname, Hibachi Slim, after playing basketball with his friends one afternoon when they decided to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, at which point Taetz XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. The matter was resolved with little harm done. That same quick thinking, sense of humor, and ability to improvise have found good use in his current environment in the YouthBuild program. Agent E, TAP’s YouthBuild commander, refers to Taetz as a “free bird.”
Taetz has worked hard to turn the corner on his past. In recent debriefings, he stated that without his feeling of responsibility to be an example for his kids and without coming to TAP, “I would be dead. It was to the point where too much was going wrong.” Now he is eager to make an impact in his community, and he hates sitting still when he could be doing something helpful. Recent training missions include installing handrails and building a shed for community members who required his expert assistance.
Because he knows what’s at stake, he is fearless when it comes to making big life moves. He knows his kids are watching him and learning from him each day: “If I don’t get it, my kids might not get it.” As Agent E also noted, being a “free bird” does not come without the downside of being occasionally blown off course. However, at TAP Taetz has practiced keeping his stability, as well as harnessed the other skills and interests he always had. He is currently planning to enroll in culinary school upon graduation from TAP.
Taetz has the perfect skillset and attitude to be a great father, valued community member, and a critical part of your team.
ENEMY: Tumult
Tumult is all around us. It comes up fast and obliterates our sense of the horizon like a hurricane wind. It keeps its subjects off-balance once it has them in its vortex and uses chaos and demoralization to prevent the subjects from effectively deploying their resources. It fosters exhaustion, desperation, and poor decision-making to keep its stranglehold on the subject.
NOW
Taetz’s current/upcoming missions include finishing his GED and attending culinary school, with a roadmap to opening his own restaurant.