Meet Chris Robey | CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Robey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Our non-profit was founded because there was a significant gap in services for a kid from a hard place. Traditionally in schools when a kid gets in trouble or sometimes even shows signs of trouble, they are removed from their classrooms, shipped out to a “third party” or even expelled. In short, instead of helping kids deal with their problems in real time, they are sent to places where there are very few resources to help.

For us, this reality was unacceptable. When a student is taken out of their classroom for an extended period of time, their likelihood of dropping out doubles. With a program like Teen Life, the student is given the opportunity to come up with better solutions to their problems within the safety of a support group. After eight short weeks, students find themselves with a much higher view of themselves and their future. And, they learn new skills and get access to better resources through the process.

Often times the needs of adolescents are overlooked because they are in such a unique developmental stage. When we looked at the gap in services, we felt like our unique viewpoint on teenagers, mixed with the skills and experiences we possessed could develop into something special that benefited students – especially kids from hard places.

What should our readers know about your business?
Teen Life is a non-profit organization based in Tarrant county that provides peer Support Groups to middle and high school students. We have been in business since 2008 and have served over 11,ooo students through these groups over our 14 year history.

We connect every teenager with trusted adults and resources because no teen deserves to feel alone. What sets us apart from other school based programs is our dedication to connecting community volunteers to students through our Support Groups. When a volunteer steps on campus, they have gone through extensive training and screening. This training includes skill building around leading support groups, as well as a deep dive on our high quality curriculum developed by our team.

I believe we have experienced so much success because we are meeting a specific need that schools are asking for. There is a significant gap in services for teenagers who need additional support to be successful. Most services are only offered once students get in trouble or break rules. Teen Life offers a way for students to gain the skills and resources they need to make the choices leading to better outcomes.

Getting started wasn’t easy. We thought we would be serving students through local AA and NA meetings. This program target proved to be challenging due to the nature of those groups and being after school. Where we found more early success was on the disciplinary campuses during the school day. Students reported that Teen Life groups were the best part of their weeks. These stories and experiences enabled us to shift towards more traditional campuses, serving a greater variety of students.

At Teen Life our philosophy is – “teenagers are not a problem to be solved”. We want to help train and equip an army of trusted adults who have that same philosophy. We believe teenagers have what it takes to solve their problems and be successful. They are worth it!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would spend the early day along the Trinity Trail and grabbing lunch down off University. I’d take them to Rockwood Go Karts to race the fastest karts in town and beat them at mini-golf. We would then wander down to the 7th street area and end our evening off at one of the great dining establishments in that area. We might work the Zoo in as well if they bring their kiddos!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to all of our school counselors and mental health professionals serving public school campuses. They have one of the hardest jobs on campus and there are very few of them. Teen Life would not be where we are today without the dedication of these professionals and their commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of the students they serve.

Website: www.teenlife.ngo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenlife_ngo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teenlife/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenlife_ngo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teenlifengo

Image Credits
Reino Capital