Portraits of a New Beginning: Kent Mendoza

«I will dedicate myself to using my voice and my story to change laws and motivate other kids that it is possible to change, even if you have tattoos on your face.»

Kent Mendoza’s first sentence was nine months. He was 15 years old and had been in gangs for a year. In juvenile hall, he says, he “learned” more about the world of crime, and his sentence was extended another nine months. He got out at 17 with one goal: “to be the best gang member.” If someone had guided him at that critical time, he says, he would not have committed another crime. “If they had given me a guitar, a piano, a skateboard ... but instead of giving me that, they gave me prison,” he comments. A month later, he was back behind bars. But thanks to friendship, the Bible and stories of others who had been in prison, he found the inspiration he needed: “It made me realize that my purpose in this world was not to be in prison.” He got out in 2014, at the age of 20, and began studying political science and economics. “The hardest thing was adjusting to life as a normal person,” Kent says. “When I got out, I went back to the same neighborhood where my gang was. That was the hardest part. At that time, I just wanted to have a good future.” Now, as a policy manager at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), he shares his life story and testifies that change is possible: “It’s a trauma that takes years to forget, and sometimes you don’t even forget it; but once you have it, use it for something good,” he says.

^{* The testimonies in "Portraits of a New Beginning" were collected and edited by Ana María Carrano, María Gabriela Méndez, Olivia Liendo and Tamoa Calzadilla, under the coordination of Olivia Liendo and Ana María Carrano.}

Go to the homepage of the book “Portraits of a New Beginning.”