Q: Tell us about you and the organization you run.

I’m Aaryn Manning and I’m the executive director at Project Place in Boston.

We’re essentially a homeless service provider, and we go about the work with a focus on employment. We feel like employment is a really critical tool to ending homelessness, though it’s often left out of the conversation.

We provide workforce development training and then run two social enterprises that provide transitional employment to our clients, on their way to permanent employment.

Q: What’s something you’re working to redefine?

I think so often people dehumanize folks who are experiencing homelessness, and they think it’s a population of individuals who are unmotivated. And every single day I’m reminded at Project Place that we are so lucky to work with highly motivated individuals who are showing up for themselves every single day. They may not have the resources or know what they need to take the next steps, but the courage that they show to walk through the door with everything that they’re facing is something that I feel so privileged to be able to experience. So few people understand that. 

When you sit down with someone and you listen to their story and you hear about the parallels and the similarities we all face… oftentimes it was a matter of substance use disorder or a matter of mental health, or an accident, or a medical incident that created an unlikely and unfortunate set of circumstances that created their homelessness and the situation in which they are unhoused. Any of us could be experiencing that.

Q: Tell us about a moment in your work that brings you joy.

When people think about Project Place, they’ll often say [things] like, ‘Oh, okay, so you help people get jobs, right?’

But when you think about what a job is, it’s so much more than that. For our participants, employment is a sense of community. It’s a space for them to grow confidence. It’s a means for them to work towards economic mobility, to be reunified with their families and to provide for them. When you work with someone for 6 to 9 months, you may watch them struggle with going to interviews and hearing ‘no’ and watching doors be closed. Then one day, they walk in with a smile on their face and they run down the hallway to say, ‘I got a job offer.’

At Project Place, we’ll put out a little notice like, ‘Hey, we’re going to ring the bell,’ and everyone comes out of their offices, and you’ll watch a participant who’s been a part of the community ring the bell in celebration of this huge milestone, which is really just a starting point on their journey towards transformative changes. That’s beautiful.

Q: What advice do you have for other ESE leaders?

Give yourself grace every day, and trust yourself.

One thing that REDF has taught me that has been incredibly helpful in my leadership journey, and validating, has been to move at the speed of trust.

Some days that’s faster than other days. But trust can’t be forced. It has to be earned. And when you earn it, you’ll know. And it’s worth doing the real work, to create the community, that you feel when it’s there.

More on Project Place.

Project Place is an Accelerator alum focused on empowering young people and families in the Boston area through education, mentorship, and community engagement. The organization provides resources and programs through their social enterprises aimed at fostering personal and professional development, helping individuals achieve their goals and improve their overall quality of life.