Overview: Terrance L. Stone, President of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce High Desert Chapter, President of Terrance Stone School and Community Consulting, and Founder and CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy (YVYLA), has been serving over 200,000 community youth of San Bernardino County since 2001. Stone started YVYLA to steer at-risk youth away from the path that took much away from his adolescence. YVYLA offers parenting classes for parents, workforce development classes for adults, conflict resolution, anger management, gang intervention/prevention programs, as well as drug and alcohol abuse programs for the youth.
Alyssah Hall
Terrance L. Stone is president of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce High Desert Chapter, president of Terrance Stone School and Community Consulting, an author and the founder and CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy (YVYLA). This nonprofit organization has been serving over 200,000 community youth of San Bernardino County since 2001.
Growing up, Stone was a second-generation gang member and upon leaving that lifestyle, he didn’t have many avenues to take or support to count on. Stone started YVYLA to steer at-risk youth away from the path that took much away from his adolescence.
“I’ve matured in the industry of working with kids and community over the years. It’s not just about gang intervention and prevention. Now, we’re doing mentoring and mental health programs and workforce development programs and things like that, community outreach and engagement,” Stone said.
During YVYLA’s first six years, Stone’s priority was to figure out how to maintain the program in a time where business and non-profit start up training courses were few and far between. He eventually expanded the services that YVYLA provided as he sought solutions for other youth issues that popped up such as teen pregnancy prevention and mental health. These issues led to collaborations with Planned Parenthood and San Bernardino’s Department of Behavioral Health.
Stone said that he still faces adversity in his career. The main two issues that he faces are trying to get funding for his non-profit and managing different personalities. He overcomes and solves problems by “just doing it” and knowing that it has to get done, a mindset he credits his mother for. Stone’s mother was a “go getter” who made sure her family was taken care of and would walk to catch the bus to work.
With his mothers “no excuses” frame of mind, Stone wears many hats and attained many accomplishments, including publishing his memoir in August, “How to Move in a Room Full of Vultures: A Memoir of Redemption and Leadership.” Stone will also be the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities next month from ELBON-Solutions College of Ministry. A recognition he accepts not only on a personal level, but also as a reflection of the collective work that YVYLA has done in the Inland Empire.
YVYLA operates in nearly 50 schools throughout San Bernardino County, and in Los Angeles County juvenile facilities as well. They offer parenting classes, workforce development classes for adults, conflict resolution, anger management, gang intervention/prevention programs, and drug and alcohol abuse programs for youth.
“We work with hundreds of kids weekly in different locations throughout the county. One of the main things is that they like to see us coming…they have fun and that’s a good thing for us,” Stone said.
YVYLA also hosts “VIP give backs” where they do random pop ups in communities. Stone said the nonprofit has a great relationship with Amazon and receives truck loads of items that YVYLA is able to share with underserved and forgotten communities. The pop ups are held in different communities monthly and they “throw a party” for two to three hours, playing music, setting up tents, opening the Amazon truck and giving back.
“We go to a lot of communities that people just don’t go to. They don’t go there. They don’t knock on the doors. They don’t check on them. They don’t see how they [are] feeling today and what’s happening around there,” Stone said.
Stone champions his YVYLA staff and team for their hard work and resilience. He shared that the kids in the program enjoy it because of his team’s grace, and their ability to treat the young visionaries with respect while also building a rapport with them.
Stone confided that after a while, the work can weigh on you and he praises his team for showing up and clocking in, even while navigating their own personal issues. Stone tries to stay considerate of what his team may be going through and said it’s incredible that they can focus on fixing somebody else’s problems while going through trials themselves.
YVYLA’s focus for the future is to expand their community health worker and workforce readiness programs, with an emphasis on youth violence prevention and wraparound services. Another endeavor they are looking forward to is their annual Mayors Ball next May, where they unite community leaders, elected officials, and partners to raise funds for scholarships and youth programs.