All The Wiser

Gerardo Lopez grew up in gang territory in Los Angeles, CA. At 14, he joined MS-13 a notoriously dangerous international gang. It took 13 seconds for him to be jumped in, but another decade before street crime and juvenile detention centers would be a thing of his past. Today, Gerardo “Clever” Lopez is a gang interventionist and executive director of Homies Unidos, a non-profit that helps at-risk youth avoid making the same mistakes by promoting peace and prevention.    In Today’s Episode: Growing up in “the hood” (04:17)  Locked up. Life in Juvenile Hall (18:29)  The moment Gerardo decides to walk away from his gangster life (22:37) An unexpected helping hand and the power of sharing your story in a room full of strangers. (25:21) Facing 48 years in prison and the day his case was dismissed and a prison guard told him “your free to go.” (35:10)   Wise Words:   “So I ended up getting jumped into the gang, [00:17:30] and when I was getting jumped in the number one thing that I was thinking about, I had alre