AARON D. THOMPSON

I know the value of learning a trade because it’s an integral part of my life story. I’ve been a licensed general contractor for over three decades. But my story begins very much like the young men and women we help through the HTP Homes initiative.

I grew up in an urban area in Maryland — a town weighed down with challenges including a high crime rate. Like many other young men in my neighborhood, I learned to box at an early age, and eventually became a professional boxer. To this day, I continue to work with young men at boxing gyms.

I also learned construction skills. I started out as a laborer and by working late hours, watching, and studying I progressed to become a master carpenter. That extra effort led me on a path to start my own construction and development business.

As a business owner I was able to pay it forward by hiring young men, some formerly incarcerated, into my construction business and teaching them the skills they need to make a living wage. Several former employees have gone on to start their own businesses leveraging the foundational knowledge and skills they learned. It’s this same “earn and learn” model with proven results and success that we are bringing to the HTP Homes program in order to enrich the lives of young men.