What it's like to be incarcerated at 16 | Gateways

Listen as Daniel Perez talks about being incarcerated

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My name is Daniel Perez, I am 24 years old and was born in Yakima Washington. My environment brought gang violence and crime. When my brother passed in 2009 I decided to cope with my grief by turning towards the camaraderie of gang lifestyle and using violence as an outlet. I came to prison at the age of 15 with a 20 year sentence, I then directed my life towards transformation. I accepted my ability to connect with people and be a teacher in order to pursue my purpose in life! I am a gang/criminal interventionist with New Freedom. Through the program I assist men seeking positive change while continuing to develop my own skill set.

This link is to a video that I, facilitator Daniel Perez did while being housed at Green Hill, which is a juvenile prison in Washington. I was involved in a program called "Gateways" that allows residents at Green Hill to sit and learn amongst students from Evergreen State College. It gave me the opportunity to have a voice and be seen for more than all the other negative content that comes up when you search Daniel Perez