'Copperman' on mission to teach trades, help end gun violence in Boston
BOSTON - Inside a triple-decker in Dorchester, copper and sheet metal are being cut, bent and hammered; but more importantly young lives are being saved, shaped and changed for the better.
"Teach them a trade so that they can make an honest living and put the guns down," T. Michael Thomas said.
Thomas better known as the "Copperman" is a welder, sheet metal and coppersmith worker by trade. His house is not only his own workshop, but it's also his museum of amazing pieces of art that he created himself.
The Boston native learned how to weld and work with sheet metal when he was in high school and entered the union after he graduated. "I saw a lot of racial disparities," Thomas said. "I questioned often why aren't there more Black and brown people involved into the union? And one of the things they said was 'we don't have the time to train them. Why don't you do it?'"
And that's exactly what he did. Converting his home into The People's Academy, a non-profit that serves as an apprenticeship training program for inner city residents and making them employable.
"So, we take an individual who has never done this before and hands on we teach them how to fabricate and install historic metal so that they can take care of their family, their community and the economy," he said.
Some of his students have been incarcerated and looking for a fresh start. Their focus is getting young people off the streets and providing a career for them. Here they call it "trades not triggers."
The People's Academy craftsmanship can be seen all over historic Boston. "If you teach them a trade, they can take care of their families. Get a sense of pride of working on these buildings. Instead of turning to the streets picking up gun they will pick up a hammer," he said.
Shaun Andrade entered The People's Academy in 2017 after bouncing from job to job trying to raise a child.
"When I actually came into this program and actually got to use the tools to actually see what I could build with tools, I was really good at it, I was focused, and I loved it," Andrade said.
He's excelled in the program and says it's given him a sense of accomplishment. "I feel better about myself knowing that I can go work on a building next door and my name will be on it," Andrade said. "Just being able to show my son that I am able to take care of him and be a man and handle my responsibilities."
For the past 15 years the program has impacted more than 2500 students. But Thomas says there are so many more who could use the opportunity and hopes to get funding for a new building that will provide affordable housing and training space.
"It's an investment for public safety, homelessness, joblessness, street violence in particular," Thomas said.
Until then he will continue the mold and shape both the copper and his students with care and compassion.