Gang Intervention 2 (Steve Wilkos Show)

At the early age of thirteen Xavier McElrath-Bey was charged "as an adult" and was later convicted to serve a 25 year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections--for a gang related murder. While growing up in prison, Xavier matured and made major changes in his thinking and behavior--hoping to someday prevent others from making the same mistakes that he once made. During his incarceration he earned an Associate of Arts, an Associate of General Education, a Bachelor of Social Science and a certificate in Computer Technology and was inducted into the Franklin Honor Society for "outstanding scholarship". He wrote short essays and articles for a magazine based in Texas, called Bajito Onda, promoting "peace in the hood". Xavier served 13 years in prison.

Upon his release, he was introduced to the Illinois Restorative Justice Initiative and he began speaking to youth and professionals in conferences, schools, universities and juvenile detention facilities—some of the places where he once resided. In 2006 Xavier McElrath-Bey graduated from Roosevelt University with a Master's of Human Services degree. Xavier also participated in the CAN-TV special "Restorative Justice in Action", and was featured on the Steve Wilkos Show—intervening in the lives of troubled youth. Currently he serves as a board member for the Community Justice for Youth Institute, which helps to build the community's capacity to resolve youth crime and conflict through restorative justice training, technical assistance, and advocacy.

Since his release he has worked for Ceasefire as an outreach worker; for Catholic Charities as a Street Intervention Specialist; and for Alternatives Inc. as the Juvenile Justice Diversion Coordinator. Currently, he proudly works for Northwestern Unversity as a Clinical Field Interviewer, as part of a longitudinal study of health needs, service utilization and outcomes of delinquent youth--which provides data needed to guide the development of future interventions.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• gang
• intervention
• xavier
• mcelrath-bey
• ceasefire
• outreach
• promoting
• peace
• no
• to
• drugs
• and
• violence
• gangs

[cerilee0407]

xavier, now thats a man 2 respect

[lebnen143]

xaviar is a real dude with his mind on his head there no words for xaviar a big rolemodel just hearing his story think twice before making a big mistake

[l33trikimaru]

This is the difference between a "nigga" and an African American.

[kamdawg00]

@HemaFTW HE actually is and has a website hes in LA...dont recall the site but google him and you can find it

[NeilLovesYouAll]

awwwwww this has reached my heart 

[TimoCruz3]

@furlaughfee Ohh .. Thnx bro

[furlaughfee]

@TimoCruz3 they were not booing, they were yelling out "STEVE!" in a low sounding voice. thats what the audience in the show do. they yell Steve to show approval/support.

[tizerspiritualist]

steve is an amazing person.

[TimoCruz3]

Why are they booing at him when he cries???

[rickneil01]

That was really touching.

[HemaFTW]

This guy should be a motivational speaker

[ajsiaful]

People like xavier make me cry. But only out of happiness. I am so heartfelt Gosh , I'm inspired.