Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Pittsburgh. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Leila Carter helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Is your business serving the residents of Pittsburgh? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPittsburgh.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
E18: Amachi Pittsburgh: Walking Alongside Children of Incarcerated Parents
What makes Ryan-Louis McNeil with Amachi Pittsburgh a good neighbor?
Breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma requires community support, especially for our most vulnerable young people. Ryan-Louis McNeil joins the Good Neighbor Podcast to share the powerful mission of Amachi Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that has been serving youth and families affected by parental incarceration since 2003.
Ryan-Louis reveals how his journey from a decade in banking to nonprofit work was inspired by his mother's dedication to community service. With passion and purpose, he outlines how Amachi Pittsburgh provides comprehensive support through mentoring programs, family strengthening workshops, and reentry services. Their philosophy isn't about "saving" anyone—it's about walking alongside families, uplifting voices, and creating pathways to success for youth who too often face damaging stereotypes about their potential.
One of Amachi's most exciting new initiatives is their mobile outreach unit called "Here For You," bringing resources directly into communities where they're needed most. Ryan-Louis explains how their multi-faceted approach includes school-based mentoring, digital storytelling, and community events to reach families effectively.
Don't miss the upcoming Amachi Pittsburgh block party on July 26th at the Woodland Hills Impact Center, celebrating the launch of their new mobile unit! Follow their journey on social media @AmachiPGH or visit AmachiPGH.org to learn how you can support children and families impacted by incarceration in your community.
To learn more about Amachi Pittsburgh go to:
Amachi Pittsburgh
(412) 281-1288
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a nonprofit supporting youth impacted by parental incarceration? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, ryan Lewis McNeil, with Amachi Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1:Ryan.
Speaker 2:Lewis, how's it going?
Speaker 3:It is going good. Good to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks for being here. Good to have you. So we're excited to learn all about you and the business, please tell us about your organization.
Speaker 3:Yes, so I am a representative for Amachi Pittsburgh. Amachi Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that has been serving youth and families since 2003. Our mission is to support children and families impacted by parental or familial incarceration. We do this through mentoring. We have family strengthening workshops, programs, re-entry programming and we just launched our new mobile outreach unit community outreach unit called here For you. So we do a lot of school-based mentoring as well. We do a lot of different things for a community-facing aspect.
Speaker 2:How impactful. How did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:Oh, so I've been with Amachi. Wow, it's been two years since I've been with Amachi. It's like sometimes I feel like it's been longer, but it's been two years. And I jumped into this work coming from a long, 10-year experience in banking, so jumping into the nonprofit sector here in Pittsburgh, due to my mother who is very active in the nonprofit world through Mon Valley Initiative and Riverside for Innovation and Diversity. She was the director of the Diversity Resource Center, so I was always surrounded by a nonprofit, the nonprofit world. So it was just only right that I follow in her footsteps and make my own little imprints.
Speaker 2:Excellent. What are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:I feel like the major misconception is, when a parent is incarcerated, the child will automatically follow the same path. That is not true, which you know. With the right support, love and guidance, these young people are more capable of achieving greatness. So another myth is, like nonprofits only provide charity, you know, and that we're here to save, you know we're not here to save anyone. You know. We're here, you know, to walk alongside, to uplift and to center voices of people. You know we serve.
Speaker 2:I love that you said walk alongside and uplift, because that's truly the way that you support someone in a genuine way. Yeah, we know that marketing is the heart of the business, so who are your target customers and how do you attract them?
Speaker 3:So we are heavily families and youth centered. A lot of like our target, like social media. We do a lot of community outreach. Community outreach and digital storytelling and, including me doing it I'm the outreach coordinator for Munchie, pittsburgh. So in addition to that, I do the social media as well. So I'm really in the middle of revamping of what storytelling looks like for Amache on a social media aspect and definitely including a lot of our youth, because they're like younger than me and they're hip, so they can you know, help someone like me, kind of like guideline, and really be revamp and tell these stories.
Speaker 3:You know, I feel like you know our focus, you know we want to do more content because we're also in schools, community events. And then our mobile unit is new and launched launched soft launch, but launched and we're also, you know, going deeper in the community. So it's kind of like we're we're really all around, especially when it's heavily focused on youth school. It's a lot of school based events, community church events, you know stuff like that, where we can be seen and visible.
Speaker 2:So you're really trying to grow engagement within this community, especially the youth. Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast youth have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?
Speaker 3:I actually do have a podcast. Yes, aside from what I do with Amachi, I host a podcast called Ryan Out Loud that is. I've actually just celebrated five years of Ryan Out Loud Five years, 25,000 listens, and, yeah, I've been. It's a podcast that is a safe space for Black, lgbtq plus creatives. I've interviewed a lot of different people from creatives in all different aspects all around the world. So that's what I do on the side, so that's my thing. But Amachi in general we are a podcast is in the work with youth and families to kind of have those center conversations about, you know, from a parent, from somebody that was formerly incarcerated perspective from them and a perspective from how to bring that together. So that's in the works as well. So I have my, I have my experience with that. So I'm really going to be behind the scenes and executive producing for that soon very good.
Speaker 2:So outside of work, what else do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:so I am of. I am an, I am an event curator, I'm a creative director, a podcast host. I emcee events. Um, recently I just I hosted, uh, pittsburgh's pride. Um, I emceed their uptown pride. I curate my own events. I do a lot of different things outside of what I do at Emachi. My days are all over the place but I try to, you know, center myself. So with Ryan Out Loud, which I am prepping for an in-person live experience, ryan Out Loud Live that's going to be called Loud and Proud. That will feature three Black LGBTQ creatives in the city of Pittsburgh and really highlight them, and that's coming up next for me. But that's what I do, that's my fun, and I just finished the first draft of my debut novel. So I do a lot of different things. A lot of different things.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, yes different things, a lot of different things. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So, ryan Lewis, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Amachi Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3:Amachi Pittsburgh. We are an organization that is dedicated to the families. We're dedicated to being a part of the community, especially with our new mobile unit here for you. We are literally here to support and if we can't provide those resources directly, we will always connect those in need and necessary that need help. Anywhere they need to go, anywhere they need Direct them in the right way, Amachi is literally here for you.
Speaker 2:That's powerful. So how can our listeners learn more about Amachi Pittsburgh?
Speaker 3:Follow us on social media. Uh, facebook is at Amachi Pittsburgh. Um, uh, our social media Instagram is at Amachi PGH. So those are really or you can go to our website at AmachiPGHorg Excellent. Well, ryan Lewis, I really appreciate your time today and having you guest on our show.
Speaker 2:Can I add one?
Speaker 3:more thing. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. How can I forget this? We are having a really big block party on July 26, celebrating the launch of our new mobile unit, called here For you. We're going to be at the Woodland Hills Impact Center July 26th from 12 pm to 5 pm. So if you're listening to this and even if you want to be a vendor vendor fees $30, please contact me at rmcneil at amanchipghorg. We can get you settled and taken care of and it's free for the community.
Speaker 2:Excellent. Well, we wish you and your business the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburghcom. That's gnppittsburghcom. That's gnppittsburghcom. Or call 412-561-9956.