Member Spotlight: Teryy McKinney, Client Care Assistant

Meet Teryy McKinney. Teryy serves with the Building Communities, Bettering Lives AmeriCorps program at One Roof.

What motivated you to join AmeriCorps? I joined AmeriCorps to make a difference in Birmingham and slowly but surely spreading outside of the Birmingham area. I want to make an impact on the youth in the homeless community and show not only Birmingham but the world that our youth deserve a chance to stand strong and be great.

What would you like to get out of this service opportunity? I would like to get a sense of pride from this experience, a sense of knowing that I am making a difference and making a change in the homeless community. a sense of awareness for myself and the changes that Birmingham needs to make.

What will your service focus on for the 2017-18 program year? My service WILL focus on homeless youth, mostly youth that's apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I want my service to stand out and to be a gateway for a major change in the LGBTQ+ homeless youth community.

What are your plans after AmeriCorps? My plan while serving with AmeriCorp is to start the process of opening a LGBTQ+ Youth shelter and making more resources available for the LGBTQ+ Community in Birmingham, hopefully by getting more funding with transportation, youth housing programs, and just all around educating people on the topic of youth homelessness and the LGBTQ+ community.

Thank you for your service Teryy!