There continue to be many fallacies circulated by Lauren Trager and KMOV regarding my employment with the Labor Employment Training Center (LETC), as a 24-hour mentor.
LETC is a non-profit that uses zero dollars of taxpayer money, but is grant-funded, even though KMOV tried to mislead the public otherwise. Moreover, I was not hired by St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) for this role, but by LETC; my W-2s were provided by LETC not SLATE or the City of St. Louis.
Many legislators work alternate jobs due to the pay not being adequate to raise a family. My hire date was July 3, 2017 and I stopped working the beginning of February 2018. Five out of seven months that I worked for LETC, the Legislature was out of session.
During my LETC on-boarding, it was reinforced that its mentoring programming does not only occur during conventional hours, that mentoring does not only occur face to face, that mentors must meet young people where they are and be readily accessible. All of this guidance reinforced that our youth needed support outside of conventional hours, and it was our responsibility to be available.
My youth were able to contact me at any time of the day, which gave me the opportunity to deter them from making bad decisions and coach them through dangerous situations. Furthermore, I was able to help them with a multitude of others things, such as advocate on their behalf in court, help them find employment, and provide tutoring, financial literacy and empowerment resources.
Due to these various responsibilities, I often worked no more than 32 hours a week, as time sheets were due every two weeks, and due to the fact my hours were unconventional. Although some of the times reported may have been off, the actual work and amount of hours are all accurate, as well as the day those hours were worked. Questioning the work that is done 24 hours a day to preserve life and protect our young people from the roughest communities is disrespectful and insensitive.
Even though I formally left my role at LETC, I still volunteer as a youth mentor and continue to help youth and various organizations in a host of capacities, Â which LETC and SLATE can attest to.
Trager and KMOV have continued in a longstanding tradition of the local media trying to discredit and intimidate black leaders in St. Louis. Instead of media outlets using their platforms to raise awareness about the everyday realities of our community and the great work being done, they would rather be divisive and play into stereotypical tropes.
I have no time to consume myself with slander pieces and attacks, as I have a community to be working with and for. However, I believe that my constituents deserve transparency and the truth. I will remain steadfast, in my efforts working toward a more equitable St. Louis and Missouri. Next time Trager or KMOV would like a story, I hope they contact me to highlight the positive work being done in our community and uplift our city, instead of continue to misinform and discredit our leaders.
Bruce Franks Jr. (D-St. Louis) represents the 78th District in the Missouri House of Representatives.
