True Thao
This young woman leads the Freemen
By Heidi M. Pascual
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True Thao (above) understands the needs of
Hmong teens and knows that there has to be
a place with people who can advocate for
them. (Below) Thao in action with members of
Freemen.
problem," Thao confided. "His attitude was really bad. He would talk back to his parents. He didn't really listen; he was on drugs.
He was locked up and while 'inside,' he thought about his future. Yesterday, he came to me and said, 'I've been messing with my
life; I'm still young. I want to hold a job and do something right.' I told him, 'OK, let's start.' So my goal is pretty much to take him off
the street."
During this interview, some young women joined the Freemen to plan for a fund-raiser to help fund the forthcoming National
Hmong Development Conference. The participants, including the volunteers, introduced themselves individually and had lots of
fun just relating to each other.
"When we started off, it was hard to break the ice," Thao said with a smile. "They're really quiet; they didn't like to talk to each
other. They were really guarded. Now, they're comfortable with each other and they're speaking up!"
The young men come to Freemen for different reasons, added Thao. "They come in for reasons besides fun. They need
someone to talk to and understand them. And I want to give them a chance to get out of Bayview to really do a lot of exploring so
that they know the available resources, where to look at, who to turn to, even if these are not what they want to do right now. And if
they get done with high school, I'm hoping they will still join us because I don't want to leave them to a dead end after high school.
If they want a scholarship, for instance, we can help them find resources. Nowadays, it's hard to get their attention, but I need to
reach out because if I don't reach out to them, who will?"
Thao knows the difficulty of sustaining an important program that helps young Hmong men deal with different societal and
personal issues, but she's hopeful that the community will recognize the need and support the program.
"True Thao is a great fit for this position," Vaj told this writer. "She knows a lot of these teens. She is a great leader and role
model for the boys. She has had to overcome the same obstacles that these boys are dealing with. She dropped out of high
school and had to get her GED via an alternative school. Many of these young men are also struggling to complete high school,
and to get along with their families, and just trying to survive out there."
As to parents' feedback on what Freemen is doing, Vaj admitted that they were initially reluctant to let their boys join the group;
however, this changed due to Thao's hard work to also educate and build relationships with the parents. "We understand the
needs of Hmong teens and know that there has to be a place with people who can advocate for them," Vaj continued. "True has
created such a space with Freemen. We are blessed to have True with Freedom Inc. She is a great community organizer and has
come a long way. She is a true survivor and continues to defy the stereotype of what and who a successful community organizer
is."
Freemen is a group of young boys and teens who are learning that with self-respect and self-love comes love and respect for
others, in this case, their sisters, mothers, and female partners. For more information and to support this group, please contact
True Thao at (608) 661-4089.
At 24 years old, True Thao looks like a teenager but speaks like an older
adult. Trusted with the responsibilities of leading a support group for
young Hmong men called "Freemen" -- a program of Freedom Inc.
housed in Bayview Neighborhood Center - she has learned how to
handle her commitment well.
The oldest daughter of a Hmong couple who came to the U.S. in the
'70s, Thao is a natural-born American like her 10 siblings: eight brothers
and two sisters. Her personal experiences as a Hmong American --
inside and outside her home -- have shaped Thao's views, which she has
been sharing with other youth her junior.
"I have been part of Freedom Inc. since it was started by Kabzuag Vaj in
2000," Thao said. "We started a girls' group, mostly of high school
dropouts who had no jobs. Within a year or two, we started seeing
'success,' when participants either got jobs, went back to school, earned
their high school diplomas, got cars, etc. I myself got my high school
diploma after working at Operation Fresh Start."
According to Kabzuag Vaj, as their work and commitment to ending
violence against women increased, they realized they couldn't do this work
successfully without involving men. And, with a growing number of young
men, particularly Hmong, seeking a safe place to go, Vaj and her team
decided to start a program for them three years ago. Freemen' first started
off as a boys support group," Thao said. "We noticed that these youth
needed someone to talk to about issues."
The age range of youth in this program is 12 to 17, and the "issues"
range from trivial to serious. "One participant, a high-school dropout, had
an anger-management