Former troubled teen Alfred Murillo knows that if someone hadn’t intervened in his life 30 years ago, today he’d likely be in a jail cell or a coffin. When he was 15-years-old, he caught the attention of a 65-year-old street minister named “Augie” who believed Alfred had potential.
“’He told me that regardless of my past, I still had something to give and my choices mattered,’ recalls [Alfred], now 45. ‘you could tell that he genuinely cared. He came to the house and talked to my mom and me and gave me some direction. Augie helped me get the courage to make big changes in my life, and I could see that being in a gang was literally a dead end.’” [Source: The Deseret News]
Today, Alfred is paying that favor forward by reaching out to kids in the Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City. He distributes backpacks, cloths and food. He also meets one-on-one with kids he thinks have potential. His hope is that, in 30 years, some of them will pay it forward, too.
Labels: prevention, awareness, mentor
Posted By: Aspen Education Group