I absolutely had to share this story with you all today about a man who has made a positive impact in the lives of other young black men.
Guy Bryant and his family had always helped people where they could. “Everybody on the block came and sat on our steps and if somebody had no place to go, my family was always taking them in,” he told InsideEdition.com. That caring spirit moved Bryant, affectionately known as Mr. B, to foster over 50 teens and young adults in the past 12 years.
At 61 years old, Mr. B is a single dad in Brooklyn who’s been divorced for some time. While working at the Administration for Children Services (ACS), he was struggling to find a placement for an 18-year-old young man. The teen asked if Mr. B would consider becoming his foster dad. Mr. B hesitantly accepted but the two grew to love and respect each other.
That foster child would be the first on a long list of young men that reached out to Mr. B for help. Mr. B now officially fosters through a non-profit organization called Rising Ground, which helps match children who have been placed in ACS’ care with foster children.
Mr. B typically takes in young men who have a hard time getting placed in foster care. He provides a true home for them as they cook together, watch games, and go on different outings.
Calling himself a “forever dad,” the 61-year-old is currently fostering four boys, a few of whom have phased out of the foster care system but still need help. “Once a child is with Guy, he is responsible for helping this person to adjust what has happened to them,” said Rising Ground CEO Alan Mucatel. “It takes a really special person like Guy to help a young person makes sense of all of that.”
Fifteen-year-old Dior Dillard agrees. “We were born to the streets,” Dior Dillard, 15, told InsideEdition.com. “We had to look to the streets for things, hustling, stuff like that. Now that we have Mr. B, he saved all these people that came into his possession.” Dior added, “I appreciate the support, the love, the care. He also helped me to relax and lower my energy down because I usually have a mean demeanor. I’m an aggressive person sometimes, but he helped me to look at things different and take a different path.”
Bryant stays in touch with most of the men he’s fostered. In fact, many come back to spend quality time with him on occasion.
Watch more of Mr. B’s story below!
Imperfectly B 