Soon, Andre Burnett will be trading July 4 for Bastille Day, and hamburgers for frog legs.
The director of Casa SAY — a Mountain View home for runaway, homeless and foster youth in Santa Clara County — Burnett will say farewell at the end of the month before packing up and moving to Paris, France.
“We’ll have to have three to four people step in to cover what he does,” said Amy Choate, counseling coordinator at Casa SAY, who has worked with Burnett for a decade.
Burnett, a 25-year Mountain View resident, has worked for Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) for 19 years, beginning as an individual counselor and eventually becoming the director of Casa SAY on View Street. On the side, Burnett teaches in Sunnyvale through a mandatory program that educates youth who are first-time offenders, and their parents, about the law.
It is the latter program, called Choices, which he hopes to introduce to cities nationwide in the coming years, with the purpose of lowering recidivism rates among teens.
“I love it because it’s beautiful and different,” Burnett said, adding, “It seems so simple and basic and real that you’d think people would be doing it, but they’re not.”
Burnett, 50, plans to live in Paris for six months out of the year and to spend the other half back in the U.S., working with cities and counties to develop similar classes for their restorative justice programs. He’ll start where he grew up, in Maryland, and already has cities interested in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in California.
Those who know Burnett say they’ll miss his “constant presence,” his openness, and his ability to connect with people — especially teens — on a personal level.
“He’s definitely one of the more popular speakers,” said Bill Bonsall, a Sunnyvale probation officer who teaches through Choices with Burnett.
“He has a great ability to communicate on their level, so they identify with him and hear the message,” he added.
Tony Dixon has known Burnett since he came to Casa SAY as a troubled teen. He later became a counselor, and credits Burnett with adding stability to his life. He brought his three young sons to Burnett’s party at Cuesta Park last Friday afternoon to say goodbye.
“He’s the voice of reason. It’s pretty much no-nonsense. He’d say, ‘Well, that was a nice story, but why don’t you tell me the truth?” said Dixon, now 33 and a Menlo Park police officer.
Dixon still calls Burnett frequently to talk about his life.
“I’m sure my wife will thank him because I’m less dramatic,” Dixon said with a smile.
Due to financial difficulties, Social Advocates for Youth recently merged with another organization, EHC LifeBuilders, which provides similar services to both youth and adults in the county. And when Burnett leaves, Casa SAY, which houses up to eight youth ages 11 to 17 with the ultimate goal of reuniting them with their families, will get a new director.
“He’s created a family,” said Steven Richmond, a therapist at Casa SAY. “He’s going to be irreplaceable.”
Choate has observed what she calls the “home feel” that Burnett brings to Casa SAY, to reassure the kids that the house is a safe place for them to open up and work on their problems. But she is also grateful to Burnett for how he has helped her to develop both personally and professionally.
“He’s not just my boss and supervisor. He’s one of my closest friends,” she said. “He has so much patience and tolerance and he always challenges you to step up. … The best thing I learned from him is to take care of yourself so you can do your job better.”
Burnett fell in love with Paris at age 20 and promised himself that he would live there one day. For at least the next five years, he plans to improve his French, teach in Prague, spend time with friends and enjoy walking around the city.
“On paper, everything seems fabulous. Let’s see how it plays out in real life,” he said.
But he said he’ll miss Mountain View, the place where he first landed when he came out to California in 1981 as a guest professor at Stanford. His involvement in the city has ranged from participating in the Challenge Team to speaking at the Diversity Youth Forum to visiting schools.
“If I wasn’t going to Paris, I’d live here forever,” he said.
E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com
