Back to the team…
Meet Diego Cortez
Program Staff
Since Diego was in elementary school, gangs and drugs were the norms. In his early teens, he was jumped into a gang, where every day revolved around violence and drugs. Instead of the future envisioned by a typical teen, such as graduating high school, going to college, and embarking on a career, Diego’s plans were to drop out of high school, go to jail, and then go to prison. That was the life he saw modeled all around him, after all.
As was expected of him, Diego’s behavior was violent and disregarded the welfare of others. He was overly concerned with what people thought of him and with cultivating the right reputation for the streets. He was certified as an adult when he was 17 years old for a gun charge. From that time onward, he was in and out of jail. Finally, he found himself with a prison sentence of 10 years to life hanging over his head. He was ready to accept his fate - being with the homies in prison for life. Instead, a judge took mercy on him and gave him the opportunity to get some help in lieu of prison. Diego decided to take advantage of the opportunity and began looking into different treatment options. He knew he needed a tough program with structure and he knew it needed to belong. He ended up writing a letter to The Other Side Academy and was accepted.
As a student of The Other Side Academy, he began the process of transformation that would ultimately save his life. He learned that he had to shed reputation and build character instead because reputation is merely who other people think you are, while character is who you truly are. Diego found a real purpose, helping people now instead of hurting them. After 5 years as a student, he was hired on as program staff. Diego’s new hood is The Other Side Academy.