Amachi Pittsburgh celebrates 20 years of helping youth, families

YAWATTA SAYLES, WITH THE YOUNG LADY SHE HAS MENTORED SINCE SHE WAS 5 YEARS OLD, RONNEA HARRIS. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO) When the light bulb turns on, it’s a wonderful sight. That’s according to Anna Hollis Kander, the executive director of Amachi Pittsburgh, who watches the proverbial light bulb turn on time after time with her high-schoolers involved in Amachi’s “Ambassadors” program. The Amachi Ambassadors program is geared toward Pittsburgh-area high school students who have an incarcerated parent or family member. It’s one of the many programs Amachi Pittsburgh has to help children and families through the tough time—whether it’s months or years—of navigating life without their loved one(s) due to incarceration. Amachi Pittsburgh is 20 years in the making, as they celebrated the organization and its mission during an event, Nov. 14, at Circuit Center on the South Side. The event was called, “Amachi Hachi Pachi: Legacy of Impact Celebration.” M. GAYLE MOSS, AN HONOREE, CENTER, WITH HER PASTOR AND FIRST LADY OF HER CHURCH. “They can be a part of the change,” Hollis Kander told WAMO Radio’s Kiki Brown in an interview that aired in early November. High-schoolers’ “voices and experiences matter, they have a lot of powerful...