Tarrant County, TX — When Alfred Anderson retired from the NFL in 1992 after an impressive eight-year career as a Minnesota Vikings running back, he purchased a GNC franchise. He also became a substitute teacher and a Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer mentor. A few years later, Anderson saw an ad for a job that looked like an opportunity for him to fulfill his calling to work with young people facing some of society’s toughest challenges — an Advocate with Tarrant County, Tx. Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc.
Now in its 50th year, YAP® is a national nonprofit is in 33 states and Washington, D.C. that works with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other local governments to provide community-based services as an alternative to placing young people outside of their homes in residential care or corrections facilities.
Anderson learned during his job interview the difference between a YAP® Advocate and a mentor.
“That’s when I realized the YAP® Advocate job meant I would be working with justice-involved kids,” he said. “But I knew I could handle it.”
YAP® Advocates are trained to deliver the YAPWRAP® model, helping program participants see and nurture their strengths, and connecting them and their parents, guardians, and other family members with tools, including basic needs resources, to help them put their lives on a positive course.
a YAP(R) youth and family Advocate.
“I told all the kids assigned to me that I had simple rules. No drinking, smoking, or cursing; and they all complied,” he said.
Anderson stayed at YAP for 7 years, almost as long as he played for the NFL.
Anderson grew up in Waco, Tx, the youngest child of five, in a Christian home. Playing quarterback, strong safety, and running back for Richfield High School, he learned the importance of discipline. He said that while he did not grow up with a father in the home, throughout high school, college, and the NFL, he had many mentors, including coaches, who helped guide him to avoid making negative life-changing decisions.
“As a kid, I dreamed of playing for the University of Houston,” he recalled. “But when I went for my recruiting trip, a couple of the players who picked me up at 8 am were drinking and smoking. I knew then that the University of Houston was not for me.”
Anderson decided instead to accept a scholarship to Baylor University, where he would play running back. He was later drafted by the Minnesota Vikings where he quickly became a fullback. He stayed with the Vikings his entire NFL career, which included two playoff stints, one of which included a National NFL Division championship game. When his time in the NFL ended, Anderson returned to Texas, settling down in Arlington where he had purchased a new home for his family. Today, Anderson is a father of three sons, two adults and one teenager at home, and a grandfather of four.
He said while some people expected him to go into coaching, he knew football was all consuming and no life for a family man.
YAP Regional Vice President, Kimberly Brandon remembers hiring Anderson for the YAP Advocate position more than two decades ago.
“Nothing ruffled his feathers; he had a very even-keeled personality,” Brandon said. “We had a high percentage of gang-involved and aspiring gang-involved youth in our program, and he had a great success rate with them.”
Brandon said Anderson used his church connections to connect families to basic needs and resources. She said contacts he met through his wife, a retired principal, helped him provide necessary support to help program participants reconnect with school.
“We did whatever it took, even made sure they had food in the house and other basic needs,” he said.
Anderson will be a part of YAP’s 2025 50th anniversary celebration, which will include a Nov. 6 day-long 50th Anniversary YAP Making Change Happen Summit and Awards Gala in Philadelphia. The following Saturday at the YAP national headquarters in Harrisburg, PA, the national nonprofit is hosting its 50th Anniversary YAP Making Change Happen 5k Run/Walk and Food Truck Brunch.
Learn more about YAP® and how you can be a part of the nonprofit’s 50th anniversary events at www.yapinc.org/50th.
