BY ETHAN STAMPER
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA —
The Curtis House is a nonprofit community service facility that was founded by State Rep. Jeremy Gray in 2016. It is currently in the process of launching a new mentorship program targeted at uplifting the lives of African American males ages 13 to 24.
At The Curtis House, the group strives to support and give back to the Jeter community through a variety of services and programs, honoring the legacy of Gray’s great-grandfather, Lottie B. Curtis, and the service he provided to the community around him.
“He was a man of the community in regard to just being a complete resource for the Jeter area community that he resided in, which is still the same house that we currently use today,” said Tamarcus Milner, executive director/president of The Curtis House. “We basically just tried to give the upgraded version of what he was for the community”
The Curtis House achieves this goal through a variety of offerings it provides in order to promote the well-being of citizens in the community. Some of these services include maintaining the community garden, providing classes that teach meaningful life skills and various community service projects.
“In a nutshell, we are a resource hub to just try to uplift those in the Jeter community and to try to make sure that they have every possible outlet to be a viable citizen in their community,” Milner said.
The Curtis House currently provides mentor programs sponsored by Auburn University that are available to both boys and girls. That program functions as a pathway to Auburn and guarantees that the kids involved in the program will be enrolled at Auburn after they graduate high school.
The Next Gen Initiative is an all-new mentorship program that is planned to launch once the school year begins in August. It is specifically for young Black males in grades K4 through 12, and it aims to show the plethora of opportunities available to them after high school, whether that be through a college education, trade certifications or other pathways.
“We’re just trying to make sure that we can do our part in tackling the need, the cry that it seems that’s the place right now for our young African American males, to give him another option to not have another seat in somebody’s jail house or prison,” Milner said.
The Curtis House is currently searching for volunteers that would like to participate as mentors for the boys selected for the program. They are looking to have roughly three to five mentors available to support it mentees.
“When you’re talking about mentoring, that requires a lot of work. It’s a lot of dedication, a lot of time and emphasis being put into it, and it may not necessarily equate to your pockets being compensated,” Milner said. “So, what I’m doing now is asking for any individuals who are interested in working with this specific demographic that has a skill set that this specific demographic could benefit from to contact us at The Curtis House.”
For anyone that would be interested in working with The Curtis House or mentoring in the program, contact information can be found on its website, thecurtishouse.org, or The Curtis House can be reached via phone or email.
