Young mentor turned his punishment into a blessing

After serving in a juvenile detention facility, Ramon Leija became involved with Boys and Men of Color, where he coordinates a mentorship program for other young men in the eastern Coachella Valley.  He might have avoided the criminal justice system, he says, had he been exposed to a program like BMOC when he was a teen.  Mentoring gives him the opportunity to influence young men and boys of similar cultural backgrounds, and to help them re-imagine their paths as they become legal adults. “Growing up in my neighborhood, I was surrounded by bad influences. Being so young and naïve, I believed that what I saw was the only way." Read the full story on Coachella Unincorporated.