In His Own Words:

“I am not your typical young adult. It has taken heartache, tragedy and huge effort on my part to take ownership of my life, but I’m now on the brink of a future that I can be proud of.

Let’s go back seven years, to me at age 14. I was just beginning to understand how far money and street credentials can take you in my neighborhood. When a friend asked me to deliver some weed to a customer, I was nervous and excited, but thought, “why not?” Before I knew it, I was in love. I became enamored with breaking the law and profiting from it. As I grew, so did the variety of substances I sold, and the next few years were lost in a blurry trail of drugs and partying. Eventually, the person I had been was lost - I lusted for money, became greedy and unconcerned with anyone but myself and the syndicate I hung out with.

So how did it change, you might ask. One thing I didn’t mention yet was that I dropped out of high school at age 15. I was never taught to write, but I always had a passion for writing, and also photography. When someone pointed out how my lifestyle was destroying my chance to pursue these hobbies, I decided it was time to change. However, it wasn’t easy. Everything I had accomplished at this point, I owed to my life experiences, whether it was watching my parents fight, or seeing family members abuse drugs and alcohol, or getting funneled into the poisonous system of drugs and violence myself. I owe all my inspiration to learning how to turn negatives into positives.

As I began to move away from my negative environment, I wanted to pursue a career in writing and photography. I contributed to a few youth publications before coming to New Door Ventures. At New Door, I was immediately welcomed. In sharing my interests, the staff told me they would incorporate my talents into an internship at New Door with the ALLY program!

Since coming to New Door, I have gained a sense of responsibility that I didn’t have before. I have learned that it is okay to ask questions, and make mistakes. I’ve been given the chance to write stories for the website and newsletters and have seen my work on display at the annual event.

New Door is more than just a paycheck to me. It’s a place where I can do what I love, and be around people who are like me: we all have struggled, we all want to better ourselves, and we are good people who have not always been given enough chances. I am now striving toward my goal of going to San Francisco State University, and New Door is helping me with that too. I have learned now that anyone out there who has the will to persevere can do so.”

By, Walter (age 21)

Update: Walter graduated from the ALLY program in December 2008. During his internship, he completed the GED and was accepted to SF State. He plans to study photography and writing, with hopes of being a professional journalist one day.