“At that time I was 16 the other two dudes I was with were 17. That's the only difference. [So] I wasn't tried as an adult.”

Born a few months apart, Mario Drain and his friends wound up with very different fates after committing armed robbery together in high school. His friends were 17 and sentenced as adults. Mario was still 16. He was sent to the Running Rebels and put into the Intensive Monitoring Program. His case workers stayed on him -- they made sure he came to meetings, got involved in activities, and showed up to school everyday. This alternative to incarceration worked. Through the program, Mario was given a second chance. He’s using it to give back to his own kids and to other young people in the community.

For more on the Running Rebels, please visit their website.

Without the Running Rebels’ Intensive Monitoring Program, Mario Drain would be incarcerated today. Photo courtesy of Mario Drain.