Shane Young might be a name that is new to you, but he has been here all along lending an extra hand volunteering behind the scenes. Most folks know his dad, who is out front on the stage — Gregg Young & the 2nd Street Band.

Shane has quietly been working in the background. He volunteers to help when the band plays for events like the Annual Champions Run for Life Torch Run for the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Institute, the AbilityFirst annual Christmas party, and the Long Beach Mayor’s Trophy Charity Golf Tournament.

“My mom and dad have always been proactive in helping others and instilled that in me and my brother in our upbringing,” Shane said. “One of my dad’s favorite sayings is God helps those who help themselves — which has been a testament to his and my mom’s hard work their whole careers.”

With Gregg Young as a dad, you would think Shane would also be a musician. He did start taking piano lessons at an early age, but he was kicked out quickly for writing his name in marker at the piano teacher’s house. Since music hit a discordant note, a real estate career seemed like a better choice. 

He went to Long Beach schools and graduated from California State Long Beach (CSULB). Today, Shane is a multi-family and 1031 exchange specialist and director of Marcus and Millichap’s National Multi-Housing Group.

Growing up, Shane’s mom Eileen worked during the day. So Shane and his brother Chase had lots of quality time with their dad growing up. Shane might not have inherited his father’s musical gift, but he does have an appreciation for good music, insightful lyrics and a genuine compassion for people.

He says “Jammin'” by Bob Marley is his favorite song. Like most of Marley’s lyrics, it has a never-give-up spirit to it, with the second verse saying, “No bullet can stop us now.” His family and friends agree tenacity is one of Shane’s strong points — in his career, his sport and his volunteerism.

Shane would often bring teammates from the CSULB Sailing Team to help at charitable events. He organized his fellow student sailors and became founder of the university’s sailing team. In 2013, the group received Best New Organization on Campus award for the rebirth of the CSULB Sailing Team.

That same year, Shane led the CSULB Sailing team to victory in the Sister Cities International Sailing Cup sponsored by the China-US Sailing Association, International Sailing Foundation and Qingdao Sports Federation. It was a 10-boat regatta, raced in Beneteau 40s in Qingdao, China — one of Long Beach’s sister cities. Shane and his team took first overall.

Shane is the newest board member of the Resident Relief Foundation, a newly formed group that helps renters in situations where others are not able to help. The foundation will pay one month of rent as emergency financial assistance to renters and as a result, help landlords who are at risk of foreclosure and bankruptcy.

“I represent investors as a broker and own buildings myself, and there’s always been anti-landlord rhetoric, which is often misleading,” he said. “The RRF sifts through all inquiries to make sure that recipients are financially literate — and provide financial literacy courses if needed — and also act as a ‘means to an end’ to help get people back on their feet.

“I know there’s a housing crisis and people truly need help, and that’s why I volunteer.”

According to Shane, his biggest contribution as a board member is, “educating my clients and industry peers on how we can assist both landlords and tenants in avoiding evictions. My brokerage team has been successful in raising funds for the foundation as well.”

The applicants need to be struggling to pay their rent as a result of unexpected circumstances involving health, employment, natural disaster or economic setbacks. Assistance is given to overcome a temporary financial crisis, not because a renter has too many bills or loans to pay.

The requirements are stiff. To get help, a resident needs to be in the current community for at least nine months, and suffered a financial crisis that was unexpected and outside of the applicant’s control. They also must have taken every step possible to reduce their monthly expenses.

In addition, they must have paid rent in a timely manner every month for the previous five years, and not violated any terms of their lease. The foundation requires proof of having enough income moving forward to cover rent and expenses and applicants agree to participate in a financial education program.

Shane goes back to his parents’ creed to explain why giving back and being kind is important.

“That’s the ‘why power,’ or the reason we want to create success,” Shane said. “The reason is to not only make a difference in our family/friends’ lives, but to leave the world a better place than we found it.”