“If you listen to what I say, it might save your life one day.” That’s what Michael DeLeon, a recovered drug addict and former gang member, told the audience Tuesday at College View Middle School.

DeLeon, who spent 12 years in prison for a gang-related homicide and drugs, developed his nonprofit Steered Straight as a way to tell his story to students around the world to make an impact on their lives.

Michael DeLeon, the founder and CEO of the Steered Straight educational nonprofit organization, told Teton County students, administrators, teachers, school staff and parents he is on a mission to educate the American public, adults and kids alike, about the effects of drugs and vaping on young minds.

NPC founder Dorrie Carolan told The Newtown Bee that a late October program featuring guest presenter Michael DeLeon got students thinking, talking, and taking action.

Michael DeLeon finds himself counseling parents about what they should be doing. This year, he will visit more than 700 schools around the country, including Southport High School, where he will speak next week.

As the latest public health crisis sweeps the nation, the Key Biscayne community and beyond grapples with the rise of teenagers hooked on vaping nicotine, CBD and THC-infused liquids.

Michael DeLeon is a man on a mission — to educate the American public, adults and kids, about the effects of drugs and vaping on young minds.

DeLeon’s message encouraged students to “stay in their lane” and not make poor choices which will affect their quality of life.

The founder and CEO of Steered Straight, an educational nonprofit, asked the Wilmington Area High School students attending his “Stay in Your Lane” presentation to put down their vapes.

During the 90-minute presentation, DeLeon spoke about the ways in which using drugs impacted his life and the lives of others around him. He also discussed the work he has done since serving time in prison to prevent adolescents from making the same mistakes that he made.

“I think you can beat drugs and alcohol without God. But if you have God’s spiritual principles in your life you’re going to have a recovery beyond your wildest dreams. Because it’s not about getting clean. It’s not staying off the drugs. It’s about renewing your life and growing into the person you were destined to be, finding your purpose in your life.”

Ohio remains the epicenter of the opioid epidemic. In light of the drug issues in the area, the Family Recovery Center’s Education Department brought a nationally-renowned speaker to the city of Steubenville Tuesday.

Students at James Caldwell High School learned first-hand the dangers of drug abuse and gang violence from Michael DeLeon, 52-year-old motivational speaker from Rockaway, on Tuesday, April 18.

“If we don’t come together, every sector of society, we are going to continue this pandemic,” says DeLeon.

Michael DeLeon wants kids today to make better choices than him. “I don’t want my past to be their future,” DeLeon said.

Michael DeLeon, a national public speaker from New Jersey, spends most of his year visiting schools and community organizations around the country, speaking to kids and adults about the growing drug epidemic.