Ben Owen’s Post

“You know I've seen a real change in Dalton since he started working down there. A real change. It’s like he has a purpose. It’s really great to see.” Judge Lee Wilson, Shelby County Drug Court We started a business to teach a nineteen year old who aged out of foster care and found himself in trouble how to work with his hands and learn a trade. It’s spiraled into something much, much bigger. Check out some our products here: https://lnkd.in/d4PSDSQk Today, at a drug court graduation we presented the very FIRST finished cutting board, Gangland #001, to the Judge who also took a chance on that kid - Dalton - and he’s seen a marked change in him, too. Dalton is a client in the same drug court program I was terminated from - let’s put that in context: this learning disabled product of foster care who became homeless and couldn’t finish high school is successfully doing something I wasn’t capable of doing. The level of his resilience - and the impact of the program we are running - is undeniable. We are on to something HUGE, and yall can be a part of it by clicking the link above and buying some handmade products made by Dalton and six more people like him who have started here since.

First run of gangland cutting boards finished - made by folks in our program in Memphis, kids that aged out of foster care, addicts in recovery, trafficking survivors, reformed gang members and dope boys, and one extremely badass girl from Afghanistan - https://lnkd.in/e_ZceyKq

The last ~30hrs have been extra packed, even for us. Every time we get LtCol Scott Mann to Memphis, we try to milk every second for maximum impact. An incredible meeting last night with local civic and business leaders, he did a podcast with Coach Bill Courtney this morning while our crew met with the district attorney and then it was jam packed from there onward. Scott and his beautiful bride Monty got to see Gangland Express in full-tilt. He got to meet a former narco-trafficker recently released from federal prison who is rebuilding his life in a better way and discovered said ex-con has an uncanny - poetic even - way with words and storytelling. They got to meet a formerly homeless and addicted veteran. Another man who did his first long prison stint at 18yrs old. Spend time with old friends who came through the program here, all ex-cons leading the way for so many, spreading love while helping us turn dope houses into hope houses. They also got to meet Arezo - an Afghan Hazara girl who made a solo journey across fourteen countries to get to America - Memphis specifically - so she could go to college and be part of the community we’ve built here. That girl’s father was a commando, the elite Afghan fighting forces trained by the very Green Berets Scott commanded in his time in Special Forces. They got to meet a family and spend time with children living in one of our “hope houses”. Honestly, what Scott and Monty got to see was the realization of a dream and purpose they helped create without even meaning to - because they decided to befriend a couple junkies/drunks and mentor us to find our path on this earth. None of this would have been possible absent the guidance of this power couple. I’m forever grateful to call this man my brother and friend.

Gangland cutting boards - made by reformed gang members, addicts in recovery, trafficking survivors, formerly homeless vets, an Afghan refugee, and more - teaching skills and business building to those who need it most - individually numbered and VERY limited - get yours here - https://lnkd.in/e_ZceyKq

Our mission to get Memphis, TN off the deadliest cities in America list requires a LOT of thinking outside the box, and it requires bridging some rather…unorthodox…gaps. We gained some new allies in that fight today as we met with the Director of the Attorney General’s West TN Drug Task Force and the Shelby County District Attorney. That’s an odd meeting for junkies and ex-cons to willingly walk into, right? I’ve said a million times that human and narcotics trafficking are two problems we will NEVER prosecute our way out of - if we could, the war on drugs would’ve been over decades ago. Violent crime is much the same. That doesn’t mean that exceptionally violent criminals don’t go to prison, just like it doesn’t mean that child abusers and traffickers still go to prison - we have institutions like that for a reason. What it DOES mean is that we need public/private partnerships to ensure that good, redeemable people who make bad decisions get an opportunity at rehabilitation or alternative sentencing, and for those where incarceration is necessary, we gotta offer them the greatest opportunity for re-entry possible to reduce recidivism. What it DOES mean is that non-violent addicts who are facing charges get the opportunity for recovery courts or treatment programs before things like incarceration are on the table. What it DOES mean is that somebody is able to liaise between law enforcement and the courts, and the addicts, and the streets. We all want the same thing. We want Memphis to be better. We want to see the suffering stop. We want to see economic opportunity return, for hope to return, for our city to THRIVE again. We’re all on the same team here. Nobody’s coming. It’s up to us.

There are big things looming on the horizon of this nation we all love - and the four folks in this pic with me tonight are right in the middle of it. There is NOBODY I would rather spend the third anniversary of one of the darkest days of the Global War on Terror with, either - for it was that darkest of days that inextricably linked both our lives and our place in the annals of history, I am convinced. Stay tuned.

My fourteen year old daughter is selling popcorn for a school fundraiser and asked me to share to my hero network - so here it is! Yall help Lily out!!! https://lnkd.in/eTPJGGxS