Former Inmate Weds New Year's Day in Kensington Church

    
       Former inmate Shamell Glover started 2014 in a big way by getting married on New Year's Day, at All Souls Bethlehem Church in Kensington. His connection to All Souls Bethlehem Church started as a teen through a parishioner associated with a youth group in Arasmus High School, that helped teens deal with their problems, called Let's Talk About It. He remained a part of the group and connected to All Souls, even after becoming incarcerated, through a correspondence from prison that lasted approximately 10 years. On New Year's day Shamell brought his life full circle by getting married at All Souls Bethlehem Church in Kensington.
   If you happened to catch the previous article written about Shamell on this blog, you would be clued in that he had made a clear decision, after being in prison for almost half his life, (he is in his 30's) that he wanted to help young people not follow the road he had traveled.
     Since I had last spoken to Shamell back in August, he has been busy keeping good on his word by volunteering with several youth organizations. The first is the All Star Talent Network, a group whose mission is to "sponsor community and leadership through experimental theater" (www.allstars.org), which he himself had benefited from and has volunteered with them for many years. In August Shamell also started volunteering with S.O.S. Save Our Streets in the South Bronx, which responds to shootings in order to reduce and hopefully eliminate retaliation shootings. This organization works with the families of the victims, fosters relationships in the community and builds a bridge of communication to gangs. http://www.soscrownheights.org/2013/02/sos-south-bronx-on-msnbc.html  As recently as November, Shamell began mentoring with ARCHES (Osbourne Association) a group that helps 16-24 year olds that are on probation deal with issues of adjustment to a life outside incarceration.
       Shamell is also full steam ahead on the creative front, by beginning work on a documentary about his life growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn and the influences that led to his incarceration. He is also a graduate from Osborne Career Training Program earning his OSHA certification, food handler's certificate and is learning how to drive. He has done all this in less than an year, an amazing accomplishment. It seems he is in a big rush to catch up with a life that had been put on hold, and at this rate, he'll do just that and more.