OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - Jammal Hunter didn't have a father figure and was struggling without it.
"What a mother can show you and what a father can show you, that's two different things," Hunter said. "As my mom was my mom and my father, I couldn't learn some things so I had to have that father figure."
His mother discovered 100 Black Men, which is where he got paired up with executive director Marcus Bell.
"We played basketball, we played catch, we eat lots of food, we like to try new food," Hunter said. "We also went to the library, we worked on schoolwork."
Since the 8th grade, Bell has guided Hunter in ways that are hard to articulate.
"He's been there. He's never said he's gonna be there and not come. He's been there every single time he was gonna be there and that was very important," Hunter said.
Hunter said Bell has shaped him from a boy to an admirable young man.
"I would probably be doing the same dumb things I was doing. I wasn't listening," Hunter said.
Bell is keeping a promise to Hunter: to be there.
"One of our mottos with 100 Black Men of Omaha is mentoring across a lifetime," Bell said.
Ultimately, Hunter knows what kind of man he wants to be thanks to Bell.
"He came in my life and showed me the outs and ins, so I'm hoping to be just as successful as him," Hunter said.
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