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By David F. Dawes
ONE is a respected author; the other is a burly,
tattooed former career criminal. Together, they hope to make a difference
in the lives of teenagers who may be starting down the wrong road.
The author is Michael Chettleburgh, who has written Young Thugs: Inside the Dangerous World of Canadian Street
Gangs. The one-time thug is Rick Osborne,
founder of Truth for Teens. He has also written an autobiography, entitled White Noise: A Journey Through Addiction, Crime and Prison.
The pair will be offering ‘Community-Based
Solutions to Youth Crime,’ June 2 at Evangel Church in Kelowna.
The event is sponsored by Reach Out, a youth ministry.
Organizer Sharon Marshall thinks highly of both men.
Chettleburgh, Marshall stated, “doesn’t
believe the problem of street gangs has just developed – but is more
a 30 – 40 year problem that, with the right supports in place within
our society, could have been averted.
“His approach is prevention/intervention. He
believes it’s our systems in society, and a lack of support for young
people, that have greatly contributed to the problem.”
Osborne’s life, she said, “is a story of
rehabilitation and hope. He was a street gangster, a drug addict, and ended
up incarcerated – and was the first inmate to ever receive his
bachelor’s degree in prison in Canada. He is a very strong
Christian.”
According to a statement on his website, Truth for
Teens was founded because of Osborne’s “desire to speak the
truth about drugs, crime, and the gang life . . . Rarely does someone
survive Rick’s past with both the ability and the motivation to make
a difference in so many young lives.”
This came across quite clearly as Osborne spoke to BCCN from his home in Ontario.
Asked what he most regretted about his years as a criminal, he said:
“You regret the damage you do to people. The people you are closest
to are the ones you hurt the most.”
His downward spiral began soon after puberty. In his
early teens, he noted, he was quite naive: “When I heard a guy was a
junkie, I thought he collected junk.” However, at age 15, he lost
this innocence.
“I went for a ride with a guy I thought was
really cool. He wound up attacking me while another guy held me down.
I was forcibly injected with a speedball – a mixture of
methamphetamine and heroin.” The culprits, he said, did it just for
the thrill of having power over someone.
The next crucial incident occurred when he was 16.
“I was hitchhiking in Florida. A pedophile picked me up – then
raped and stabbed me.” Aside from the pain and humiliation, he was
also traumatized by the aftermath.
“I had bought into the myth that ‘you
don’t snitch.’” This streetwise ‘code of
silence’ caused Osborne to keep the attacker’s identity a
secret. To his dismay, he later learned he had made a dreadful mistake.
“There was at least one other young man who was attacked because of
that.”
This was one of the main reasons he took up
self-mutilation. “Right into my 30s, I cut myself.”
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Asked why he went to such an extreme, he said:
“When you can’t deal with the emotional pain, you hide it with
physical pain.” He retained one other habit from his teen years:
“I was speedballing into my 30s.”
Osborne served prison terms totalling more than 24
years. At Millhaven Institution in Ontario, he became a Christian in 1993.
Soon after, he poignantly prayed: “Let me die
like a man, in the prison yard – and let me go to heaven on grace,
like the guy on the cross next to Jesus.” Asked how his faith has
helped him most, he replied: “Being able to forgive myself.”
Asked what he now hopes to accomplish, he said:
“When I came out of prison, I wanted to help kids become resilient.
The best advice I can give them is to remember the value of one individual
– and that they’re a child of God.”
He said he is mainly concerned with the temptations of
narcotics, and the ignorance of many Canadians.
“We’re putting our heads in the sand. The
appetite for drugs is insatiable.”
Osborne’s self-mutilation was one of the key
reasons why he got most of his body tattooed. Ironically, it ultimately
helped him make a more powerful impression on teens.
“When I came out of prison, I didn’t like
the tattoos. I had mainly used them to intimidate people. But now, they are
what makes kids listen to me.”
People notice one other thing about him, he said.
“One time, the look in my eye caused a guy to jump out a window and
break his legs. God has given me a new set of eyes. People can now
look in my eyes, and see I’m not dangerous. When I asked my mother
for forgiveness years ago, that was the first thing she noticed.”
Osborne and Chettleburgh are collaborating on an
updated version ofWhite Noise, to be released in October. “We want to write the redemption
part,” said Osborne.
Contact: 250.763.7892 or truthforteens.com.
May 2009
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