Amari Allen and Trenette “T-Nice” Gresham work together at Ignite Drop-In Resource Center on Chicago’s South Side. They’re peer educators, and that sometimes means young people feel more comfortable talking to them than case managers. Last month at StoryCorps, Amari and T-Nice talked about their childhoods and what it was like to have to take responsibility for your life at a young age.

Special thanks to Ignite Drop-In Resource Center.

This interview was facilitated by StoryCorps Chicago’s Mary Bess Ser.

Bill Healy produces StoryCorps Chicago for WBEZ and teaches journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him @chicagoan.