Stories of hope about leaving the gang life and striving for a better future.
IN THEIR EYES Fernando grew up in Fresno, near Parkside – with his mom, dad, and sister. His father worked 3-4 jobs to make ends meet, and the stress manifested into violent rage. Burned in his memory are the harsh beatings at the hands of his father. The wounds inflicted on 9 year old Fernando […]
JOURNEY HOME Before Sam was born, his family had to leave everything behind in their hometown of Battambang, Cambodia during the turmoil of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). Sam was born in a family of 12 children. of which only 10 survived. The Ban’s were forced to travel light – only taking what they could carry […]
A FATHER’S REDEMPTION Nickyray Padilla became a dad at the age of 20. When his daughter was born, worry and anxiety gripped his heart. He had no idea what it meant to be a father. His own dad was never around when he was growing up. Only one memory exists… meeting his father in Wasco […]
Staff member Johnny Trujillo tells his story. Watch below
In the spirit of being good citizens and members of our community, Hope Now is working with the City of Fresno to help keep our streets clean. This week we are working in a large section of Southwest Fresno. Our Hope Now youth are making a difference.
A couple of years ago his 2-year-old brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. Two weeks ago his teenage sister was gunned down by rival gang members. It is not a season to be jolly for this young man. A high school dropout and a Bulldog gang member, the odds are stacked against him. Yet, […]
Helping gang members become good citizens is possible. Like anything we do, it takes training and education. We do not believe in activism. We believe in action and in the American dream that all men can succeed. Teaching citizenship is a lost art. Most of the young men we work with have no idea where […]
Marquise’s grandmother died. She was the rock, the glue, the force that held their family together. While she lived, she took him to church, but when she died it was as if everything died with her. Her death hurt him deeply. Marquise told me, “When my grandmother died, no men in the family stepped up. […]
“I had no moral standards. I cared for no one except myself. All I wanted to do was terrorize the streets, and I did.” This is a typical quote we hear from young men who have grown up with no moral compass. Terrell never knew his father. Born to a 15-year-old mother, “It was more […]