Alta’s is known as a more healthy soul food restaurant with delicious food, even my students love it, but the place also has a tremendous success story and roots. He learned to cook and a lot about life in the prison kitchen that was run by inmate Tobias Tubbs, who also has an extraordinary story. Chef Keith, the owner, came from the Jordan Downs projects in Watts and was a gang member. If I had the resources to do so, one place I’d take them to eat and learn is Alta’s restaurant in West Adams. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. We have to endure.Īnd I want the world to know that investing in impoverished communities in ways that the people in the community relates to, and by constructing creative and unconventional policies and laws, we can deter crime and violence and save our youth. We overcome our challenges by just keep on going. No matter how difficult it is, we must be selective about who’s giving us money and their ulterior motives. There’s a lot of money for reform and interventions today, but grassroots do not get the support they deserve. I now have created the Big Dogg Academy, which is thriving today, although not financially. Someone has to tell the other side of the story and that’s what I do. I take these cases so there’s at least a glimpse of fairness.
But I have to because I believe the prosecutors present unfair overly-broad scenarios and they use evidence that I believe is irrelevant, assuming, bias, and untrue information. It’s so difficult to defend a person that is in a gang, and not many of us do it. Working in the Criminal Justice system as a Gang Specialist has taught me a lot. LA Unified & probation often asked me for advise, but they never gave us a penny, so of course I denied any invitations to their meetings. After struggling for fifteen years I had to close the school as it was because people did not want to invest in troubled youth, especially if they had a gang label. The biggest challenge from the beginning to the present is funding. We focused on whole person care back in the 1990’s. We helped kids graduate high school that were kicked out of traditional schools. I hired former gang members to facilitate, educate, and mentor our youth population. I created an alternative high school that focused on gang members and those involved in the criminal justice system.
My goal has always been to prevent violence and crime by using a more creative approach than the systems that be. I am a gang and violence prevention and intervention professional.
That’s how my career path began and that’s how I became the unlikely person I am today.Īlright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally? This ambition drove me to LA to witness the 1992 riots. It also lead me to my work in the Criminal Justice System because I learned that justice was not given to everybody. I had a great childhood. This gave me the passion to work in impoverished communities when I saw with my own eyes the inequities, lack of love, and despair children suffered in our underserved communities in Los Angeles. I also learned the importance of fairness. I was a swimmer, surfer, and I played soccer, My father was a football coach and I learned at a young age the importance of being a team player. I’ve lived near the ocean most of my life. I grew up in a family of educators and sports. Hi Kimi, how has your background shaped the person you are today? We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimi Lent and we’ve shared our conversation below.
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