TeAndria Ellis, founder and executive director of the Surge Project, a Birmingham nonprofit dedicated to youth and community development, began working toward violence prevention solutions after her brother, Terrell Ellis, 22, was shot and killed in 2012.

A Jefferson County Grand Jury indicted two teenage boys on two counts of capital murder for Ellis’ death.

“We went to one of the court cases, and as the young man was sentenced, his mom started crying. My mother walked over to the young man’s mom and she asked her if she could give her a hug,” Ellis said. “I will never forget my mom saying, ‘Neither one of us wins. My son never comes back, your son goes to jail for 20 years.’”

Ellis said she started the Surge Project to put Birmingham families in ‘a position to win.’

“By winning, to me that means, our children get the opportunity to thrive. Our children get the opportunity to live. The Surge Project was born from that statement,” Ellis said. “We want to put people, particularly youth and young adults in our city in a position to win, to be successful, to be put on a pathway for upward economic mobility, mental health care, wellness, all without the burden of cost.”

Ellis is also a pastor at Hill Community Church, a student earning her bachelor’s degree in youth studies at Samford University, and director of EmpowerED Birmingham, a coalition working to improve educational opportunities for youth.

EmpowerED offers a caregiver advocacy program for Birmingham City School parents as well as career building opportunities and tutoring sessions at Green Acres Middle School. The program will also be implemented at Jackson Olin High School in the fall.

The Surge Project features three initiatives: Grow Well, Live Well and Work Well.

• Grow Well serves 10-17 year olds and offers conflict resolution workshops, mentorship, counseling, tutoring and community service opportunities. In 2022, the Surge Project started a club at Washington K-8 School to work on art projects, business skills and conflict resolution as part of the Grow Well initiative.
• Live Well offers community based health and wellness resources and services to anyone in need.
• Work Well, serving young adults, is a workforce development program to increase employment.

City of Birmingham and community partnerships

In 2023, the Surge Project received an $80,800 grant through the City of Birmingham’s BOLD Fund to provide workforce development for adults ages 17-35 to reduce gun violence through a nine-week soft skills training and certification program through a partnership with the National Training Institute for Healthcare Technicians.

By the end of the program’s pilot, 32 out of 40 participants were phlebotomy and EKG technician certified; 19 were Jackson Olin High School students.

“Jackson Olin is in the community where my brother was killed. So to do that work there, it’s going back to my place of pain, doing my passion work and making sure we are putting people in a position to win,” Ellis said.

The grant was not renewed for another year, but the Surge Project will continue to offer workforce training through the Work Well program while searching for other grants to expand the initiative beyond Birmingham.

“I believe when you give people the resources that they need to pull them out of survival mode, where they can thrive, you will start to see reductions in gun violence in the city of Birmingham. When you are tackling issues related to education, mental health and wellness, workforce development, that is how we cater to the total person and all of their needs,” Ellis said.

Jessica Clark, founder and owner of the National Training Institute for Healthcare Technicians, a Birmingham based career development center, said she joined the partnership to help youth thrive.

“I wanted to open up my own school and make it affordable for students to get their education to better my community. I have always believed that if our young people get educated, they can get out of the system and do better for themselves,” Clark said.

“Programs like this keep our youth off the streets, out of gun violence. It keeps them from losing their lives.”

Clark opened the institute in 2018, in a 200 square foot room with a desk, a folding table and a few chairs. She gave small scholarships to students in need when she could afford it.

Over time, the school expanded, giving over $50,000 worth of annual scholarships.

“This summer was amazing. We had about 19 Jackson Olin students come in and get certified. It was amazing to see their faces when we were teaching them and how they were unsure but then that transition when their face lights up when they started connecting the dots. It was truly amazing,” Clark said.

“Now they’re leaving high school with a diploma and a certification and they can get out into the work field and start working and be able to take care of themselves. I’m blessed to be able to give back to the community and see our young people rising above.”

The institute offers clinical medical assistant, phlebotomy, EKG and patient care certification training. Students also have the opportunity to participate in mental health and wellness, resume building, business ownership and financial literacy workshops.

Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman said she and the council are continuing to work with the Surge Project and other initiatives like the RESTORE program, Birmingham Promise, credible messenger program, HEAT Curriculum and Safe Haven program to combat violence among youth.

“I make sure to advocate to the mayor’s office and to my colleagues about how the Surge project is doing great work in the schools and out in the community,” Smitherman said. “I really enjoy working with them and supporting them.”

Smitherman has worked with the Surge Project for four years. She said she admires seeing how members of the Surge Project interact with the children and young adults in their program.

“I just see a brightness in the children when they are in those workshops,” Smitherman said. “We know that to stop this trend of violent crime, we have to start with this next generation of kids. We have to target mental health, poverty, give them resources and people to look up to.”