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Not all mentorship is equal.
For Tiffany Blair, a graduate of The Other Side Academy, mentorship has taken many forms. There were bad role models, like the man who introduced her to meth at the age of 11, and there were positive role models, like the woman who encouraged her to embrace honesty and take accountability.
Born into homelessness and to a mother grappling with addiction, Blair’s early years were marked by instability and neglect, she said, leading to a cycle of low self-esteem and substance abuse. She tried for years, she said, to break free from destructive patterns and longed for a sense of safety and community. Then, while booked into the Utah County Jail, she applied to the TOSA program, a free life skills school for adults who have struggled with addiction, incarceration and homelessness.
"I just want to belong somewhere,” she recalled writing from the jail. “I just want to feel loved, and I just want to be somebody better than I am now.”
She was accepted into the program in 2016, and under the guidance of TOSA mentor Lola Strong, Blair said she began to accept the positive example as a catalyst for personal transformation rather than a confrontation.
Inspired by her experiences and after graduating from the program, Blair assumed the role of mentor, offering guidance and support to others. Her journey not only facilitated personal growth and sobriety but also enabled her to regain custody of her son, Tym’n, with the support of her fiancé, Jordon. Together, she said, they provide a nurturing environment for Tym’n, fostering accountability and positive decision-making.
Making this kind of impact on people is a process of constant growth that community leaders like Blair and Strong say they take seriously. With 71% of TOSA graduates remaining drug free, crime free and employed, TOSA program underscores how the effects of mentorship, good or bad, has the potential to help change lives.
Blair shared her story this semester with University of Utah journalism students Jordyn Bates and Jae Bin Francis Shim as part of an audio storytelling project with KRCL, Amplify Utah and The Other Side Academy.
