April 7, 2026
from the Record, Fall 2025
Art and Action
In 2023, overlooking the English Channel from his flat in Bexhill-on-Sea, Terrance Harris '16 was deep in work on a screenplay inspired by the tragic death of his childhood best friend, Austin, from an accidental overdose. A sudden realization hit him that in the 13 years since Austin's passing, Harris had moved significantly through the healing process, and he was ready to pay it forward. Not one to sit on an idea, Harris got to work, and Austin's Second Chance was born. The nonprofit aims to "build and create a comprehensible social and need based network for young men" in the Henry County, Virginia, area, where Harris and Austin grew up.
Returning to his hometown of Henry County was bittersweet for Harris. Confronting memories of a tumultuous childhood journey to personal acceptance while also finding ways to support the community that raised him was both difficult and restorative. "I've been able to work through and break free of many difficult things in my own life such as mental health struggles and substance abuse, and I want to help others unshackle themselves from the things that are holding them down," Harris says.
Having been away from the southwestern Virginia community for more than a decade, Harris began by listening. He identified the community's most pressing needs and sought to build trust. He soon realized that many in the blue-collar workforce lacked access to information about their labor rights. In response, he began offering OSHA training and certification courses to empower local workers and help the town attract betterpaying state and federal jobs. During the two-day trainings, Harris also offers workshops on mindfulness practices such as meditation, breathwork, and yoga with the goal of building out these services and others such as art therapy. In addition to Austin's Second Chance, Harris also recently set up Confident Care, a mobile crisis response and regional community-based stabilization intervention service that provides mental health support for Henry County residents.
After overseeing the initial development and staffing of the two Henry Country services, Harris returned to Europe, where he is pursuing his doctorate degree in design and applied arts at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Harris also spends significant time in Galway, Ireland, where another branch of Austin's Second Chance provides mental health and sobriety support to teens and adolescents.
Filmmaking remains Harris's modus operandi for processing pain and transformation, and he believes in the power of art and creative expression to help people heal. Through his own film projects and through the mission of Austin's Second Chance, Harris continues to find and create beauty from grief. "I'm living life for two now," Harris says. "I am Austin's second chance."