In 1992, drugs, violence, and unemployment reigned in East Palo Alto, California. Crime rates were at an unprecedented high. It was at this moment that a social entrepreneur with a unique history came to the forefront of the community with a plan for change. David Lewis was a former drug addict who had spent seventeen years in prison. Equally importantly, he had emerged from these experiences with a deep commitment to enabling others to change.
David was only nineteen when he arrived at San Quentin, the oldest and most infamous of California’s prisons, after being arrested for selling heroin. But he was so skilled at the practices of extortion, ransom, and drug dealing, and charismatic to boot, that he eventually became one of the leaders of a notorious prison gang. And then in 1989, when David was thirty-four years old and two months away from release, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook his world.
As his cell in the fifth tier of San Quentin trembled in the quake, David faced the real possibility of dying alone after having spent most of his adult life in prison. He was overcome by a sadness that penetrated to the core of his soul.
But, out of this sadness came a deep determination to transform. For the first time, the desire for a meaningful life forced him to visualize himself outside the comfort zones of prison and drug trafficking. For David this was a moment of obligation—it allowed him to re-imagine his life and commit to changing himself.
When David was released, even though he was determined to start over, he was instantly surrounded by the familiar culture of crime that he had thrived in as a teenager. He had no employment prospects, no housing, and none of the traditional job skills. Like 70 percent of released prisoners, he fell back into old habits and was rearrested within three months.
But instead of sending him back to prison, David’s parole officer enrolled him in a year-long residential drug treatment center within the East Palo Alto community. This marked an important turning point. At the center, David befriended other former addicts who were also struggling to stay clean and sober. Their collective support fueled his determination to change. He began seeing possibilities for a community that could heal together.
