When Teikani Richardson was six years old, his family moved into a house on N. 17th St. across the street from the Walnut Way Center in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights neighborhood. There his family – mom, dad, and 11 kids – took part in community arts and recreation programs offered by Walnut Way and other organizations. Teikani, the second youngest, was no exception. Today Teikani is an 18-year old high school graduate and Neighborhood Mobilization Worker for Walnut Way (through its partnership with Employ Milwaukee, a program of Milwaukee County’s Workforce Development Board). He has big plans for his future and credits his family and Walnut Way for helping him develop the skills needed to succeed: creativity, strong work ethic, and flexibility.

Learning through Walnut Way’s 4-H Club
“After school, I headed straight to the Walnut Way Center for their 4-H Club,” Teikani recalls. “I really liked 4-H because I got to hang out with my friends and family and still be productive. It also shielded me from a lot of negativity.” He baked, cooked, drew, and painted. He went on field trips, learned about urban agriculture in Walnut Way’s peach orchards and vegetable gardens, and helped organize the 4-H Club’s annual Christmas sale, where kids sold hand-made ornaments and cookies and learned valuable communications and customer service skills.

Another skill he learned through 4-H was sewing and creative design. “Growing up, I wore a lot of hand-me-downs from my older brothers,” recalls Teikani. “Kids at school teased me sometimes, so I learned how to distress old jeans and add patches so they looked stylish. 4-H taught me how to do that.” The experience of restyling old clothes into something unique has inspired Teikani to pursue fashion design and marketing in college so that he can create and sell affordable, stylish clothes for other people. “I want people to have nice pants that don’t cost $300-400.”

He’s also a writer and poet, a talent that evolved as a self-healing technique. “Anytime I felt down or was in a bad mood, I’d write it down.” (Teikani will share that gift with others at “Speak of Me Poetry Neighbor Night” 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Walnut Way Center on Wednesday, February 21st.) Teikani wanted to create a space for neighbors to reflect on violence in the neighborhood, whether they are directly or indirectly involved. “We all are affected,” he reflected. He hopes that having an open space for neighbors will give each other a chance to heal and process the violence and trauma individuals and the community experience as a whole.

Discovering Neighborhood Talents
Growing up, Teikani explored his neighborhood, walked downtown, and met neighbors. Today as a Neighborhood Mobilization Worker, he’s putting his natural curiosity and outgoing nature to work, going door to door in the community, gathering information from companies and neighbors to build a healthy bond in the community. “It’s cool to discover how many different talents people have here,” explains Teikani. “One of our neighbors – who used to watch us walk home from school everyday – is a really good welder. There’s also a man that owns a car wash service, a plumber, and several painters. There are about 20 guys in the neighborhood who are really good at working on cars. If Lindsay Heights was a company, we’d have all the talented people right here to make it work.

Working Hard and Learning During Walnut Way Internship
Teikani credits developing his work ethic to his internship with Walnut Way’s Growing Youth Leadership (GYL) program and working with GYL’s director Jeremy Davis. “He taught me how to work hard and to be in tune with what I was working on. He taught us while we worked, so I learned a lot about trees, how to take care of them, harvesting, and more.” This work ethic came in handy earlier this year when Teikani briefly worked two jobs: an 8 pm – 8 am temp job that required him to take an hour-long bus ride to get to work and then, after an hour-long ride home, began his new job at Walnut Way. “What motivated me,” recalls Teikani, “ was knowing that by ticking off my goals, one at a time, then one day I wouldn’t have to work this hard. I also really want to move into my own home and have a car.”

To hone his job skills, Teikani is also enrolled in a Milwaukee JobsWork workshop. “I’ve really changed a lot since high school,” sums up Teikani. “I’ve learned how to adapt to different jobs and learn that once you do one thing, then you need to do another thing. Life is always changing and I’m getting used to adapting.”