Community Concerned

Wow today was an amazing day. Nothing I find more rewarding than to be able to give back in the area that I was once apart of. My past isn't one to brag about. Heck, I got involved in gangs at the age of 10 and started using hardcore drugs around 12 yrs old. You see, coming from poverty and growing up in the housing projects in Boyle Heights, I never had a childhood. Faced with adult decisions I failed and made wrong choices for many years. However I'll talk more about myself in a later blog post.

But today I want to just say that after all that I have been through and experienced, with all the death and kaos brought about by the senseless lifestyle of gang violence and drug addiction I can said that even that had a purpose in making me into the man I am today.

I love the work that I do today as an advocate for today's youth. Having the privilege to reach out and help someone other than myself is like bringing heaven here on earth, The joy of helping someone that everyone else gave up on and seeing them become who they were intended to, is so satisfying. I would say almost better than sex.

BKR Gang and Drug Intervention Program is a community concerned program because the Executive Director knows what its like being pressured into making quick choices which are almost always, are wrong choices.

It's not about collecting numbers for grants to keep the money rolling in. Wayne Turner has been running this program for close to 6 yrs without any funding. His job as a Youth Counselor at night is how BKR is financed. Yes there are Irons in the Fire so to speak as far as funding is concerned, but Wayne is determined to continue the work reaching out to those At Risk Youth and especially to those that haven't got there yet, regardless if the funding comes in or not. He's committed to educating and assisting our young generation by being a positive role model and sharing his story of how he was able to overcome the difficult challenges in his own life.

Wayne will soon share with you and everyone else what motives him and what drives him to do what he does in the lives of the youth and the community of Northeast Los Angeles. And that is, Matthew Turner.

Please take a minute and visit the BKR Gang and Drug Intervention Program's website to learn just what it is that we are doing in the community. Maybe you would like to help Wayne out with a generous donation to help keep things going. Who knows your dollars could help save a kids life.

www.bkrgdip.org