From our Arthur Ashe commemorative issue: These Richmonders share Ashe's commitment to strengthen the African-American community.
Stephan "Coach" Hicks (Photo by Jay Paul)
Stephan “Coach” Hicks has been successful in helping men who face significant challenges because he knows their struggles firsthand. Before he founded the nonprofit counseling service My Brother’s Keeper of Greater Richmond in 2009, he had been homeless, drug addicted and unemployed.
“I moved to Richmond from Baltimore 17 years ago,” Hicks says. “My life was spiraling out of control, and Richmond was a chance to have a fresh start.”
He needed it. Hicks was a high school dropout who grew up without a father in Alabama and struggled through adolescence, he later moved to Baltimore, where he became a taxi driver who wound up sleeping in his cab at night. Eventually, the father of two realized he had to get his life together. Hicks pursued his education, earning a certificate in digital communication and studying psychology. He also worked as a research administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University, retiring in 2017 after 16 years.
My Brother’s Keeper was founded before the similarly named initiative created by then President Barack Obama in 2014, although both organizations help to address a lack of opportunities experienced by young men of color. While they both focus on facing the challenges that African-American males face, My Brother’s Keeper works with whomever needs their help.
My Brother’s Keeper of Greater Richmond creates programs that enable men to connect with each other, gain practical and spiritual guidance, and get the support they need to be become better husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles and sons. Throughout his own process of self-improvement, Hicks worked to address several of his under-developed skills, including interpersonal communication, anger management and conflict resolution. Years later, he saw those same challenges as he began engaging African-American men in the community.
Hicks, a minister, was guided by one of his favorite passages of scripture: “Now that you’ve been strengthened, go and strengthen your brothers.”
My Brother’s Keeper helps men address their issues through a variety of small-group activities, workshops, seminars, retreats and conferences throughout the year, including a 12-week life-skills course that covers co-parenting, job seeking, career development and financial planning. They also help fathers understand the effects of trauma on children’s ability to learn, while helping these men heal from their own childhood wounds.
“Our organization is grass roots,” Hicks says. “We deal with these men on a personal level and know them very well.” They started with seven men, and to date they’ve helped nearly 1,000 — providing services to 497 men in 2017 alone.
Much of this work takes place behind the scenes, so My Brother’s Keeper sponsors “The Manny Awards,” to ensure that these redemptive experiences are recognized. At its third biannual awards dinner last month, the organization celebrated men who have overcome problems and obstacles with the help of family, faith and community.
“Now, it’s about sharing the untold stories about the things these men are doing in the community,” Hicks says. “We’re using our platform to help these men understand that in addition to their hard skills, they really need the softer skills in their tool belt to be successful in life.”
Reflecting on Arthur Ashe, Hicks mused, “He was truly a champion for social change. And a lot of times when you are on the front lines, when you’re championing something, you go through a lot of adversity. When that happens, I pray for lifelines, because I can’t give up. This work is just too important.”
