Tristan Howard can teach us all what it means to be a parent, even if we don’t have our own biological kids. As an invaluable member of our FFLIC Shreveport Chapter and a dedicated community leader, he consistently invests in the youth in his community, as if they were his children.
“I had role models growing up, and so I want to be a role model,” he says. I want to help people, especially kids, and make their lives easier.”
His role models were his father and uncle, and Tristan attributes his own sense of community to his family. He has two sisters and a brother, and his family was close growing up. Now, at 33 years old, he has helped raise three children from a past relationship, and continues to care for the kids and people in his neighborhood. He feels lucky that he was raised with a proper respect for guns and overall discipline, and he now wants to pass on those lessons to the next generation. He also wants to share his passion for hunting and fishing, which also reflect his deep connection to nature and his role as a steward of the community and the environment.
“I am a learner, and I like to learn every day. So I try to be the change, spark it and start it…I want to help kids change their mindsets.”
Tristan has provided essential supplies to the kids in his community, like clothes and school supplies and facilitated access to recreational activities such as basketball and cleaning up the community. He also started his own lawn care business with the hope of sharing knowledge about entrepreneurship with his neighbors, naming it “OURS”– an acronym for ownership, unity, restoration, and stability. Most importantly, he has offered the guidance and mentorship that young men in his community can benefit from.
Tristan’s commitment to his family and his community is commendable, and he continues to inspire those around him with his generosity and leadership. We are grateful for his contributions to FFLIC and to our world! Through his actions and service, he is showing us what community care and violence prevention truly look like– taking care of kids as if they were our own and taking care of each other.