Michael DeLeon, founder of Steered Straight, Inc., speaks about his experiences with substance abuse at a Murray High School assembly last week. He spoke to both local school districts after his appearances were funded by a grant from the Calloway County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP).
The message Michael DeLeon brought to students at both local school districts last week was simple: if you want to avoid prison, don’t follow his life’s path.
DeLeon is an author, documentary filmmaker and founder of Steered Straight, Inc. According to the organization’s website, he is a successfully acclimated ex-offender who spent 12 years in state prison and half-way houses for a gang-related homicide after nearly 20 years of drug addiction. After he served his sentence and was released, he earned three associates degrees, a baccalaureate degree in business management, with a minor in criminal justice and a CADC Educational Certificate. He is currently in the process of obtaining his tobacco treatment specialist certification from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, his master’s degree in social work at Liberty University School of Social Work, as well as pursuing his LCADC.
DeLeon spoke at both Murray and Calloway County high schools after the Calloway County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) funded his appearances. Andrea Morris, coordinator of Murray High School’s Den Youth Services Center, said she applied to CC-ASAP for a grant after having heard DeLeon at a conference and being deeply affected.
“I applied for a grant through Calloway County ASAP,” she said. “They are doing good things in Murray now and trying to help, and I go to those monthly meetings. They had that opportunity, so I applied for it and got it. They paid in total for him to be able to come, so I’m just so thankful to Calloway County ASAP for doing that.”
DeLeon was born in Ireland, and his family moved to the U.S. when he was a child. His father traveled for work, and when he was fifth grade, his uncles on his mother’s side decided they would “make a man of” him. He said this involved many hours of physical abuse, and they made him swear never to tell his mother, telling him they would beat him even harder if he ever did.
“They told me that lie that so many kids are told – that family business is family business,” DeLeon said during his appearance at MHS. “No, it ain’t! You go see somebody. You’ve got a counselor … you can go see your principal, you can go see anybody in this building. You can go to the Family Resource Center and talk to them. So could have I – but I didn’t I just smiled and kept it moving.”
DeLeon said this was the period when it his life changed forever, because even though he didn’t drink or take drugs for some time after that, it was the prelude to his spiral into addiction. His parents divorced at the end of his fifth grade year, his grades dropped down to D’s and F’s, and he started frequently getting in trouble for fighting. After he was suspended from school, the principal recommended to DeLeon’s mother that he see a professional counselor. He said he started seeing the counselor regularly, and the man took advantage of him him by sexually molesting him throughout the sixth, seventh and eighth grade years.
After experiencing this prolonged trauma and abuse, DeLeon was an easy target to be influenced by anyone older who showed him any attention. A 17-year-old in the neighborhood picked on him, and after DeLeon cried, the teenager felt bad and listened to his troubles. After DeLeon confided in him, the boy offered him a cigarette, telling him it would “calm your nerves.” He invited DeLeon to a party, and before long, DeLeon was regularly drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and marijuana.
DeLeon said he eventually tried harder drugs like methamphetamine and heroin, and his addiction got so out of control he started selling drugs to support his habit. One day, DeLeon set up a big drug deal and brought two gang members along for protection. One of them was a gang leader’s younger brother, and he was shot and killed after the deal went wrong. DeLeon said he fled after hearing the gang leader was going to kill him as retribution, and this resulted in his own mother being murdered in DeLeon’s place because he wasn’t at home. He eventually ended up in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to his mother’s death.
DeLeon said he started Steered Straight because the Scared Straight program – in which juvenile delinquents were taken to prison to learn from prisoners what life is like behind bars – had not proven to be effective.
Discussing how his criminal past continues to follow him today even though he finished serving his sentence nearly two decades ago, DeLeon said he was recognized by President Barack Obama’s administration for testifying about a dozen times regarding criminal justice reform and racial disparities in the justice system. He had been scheduled to visit the White House to receive a commendation, but at the last minute, he was told by Secret Service agents he would not be allowed to attend in person. Then in 2020, when President Donald Trump was in office, he and his wife were again invited to the White House, this time to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Once again, Secret Service showed up at his hotel informing them they again would not be attending the ceremony. Instead, the agents handed them their medals, certificates and two hand-written letters from President Trump.
“If you think this doesn’t affect me every day of my life, I’m telling you it does,” DeLeon said.
DeLeon said he and his wife had also been trying for several years to adopt three Ukrainian girls whose parents were murdered. After Russia invaded, the girls – now 7, 9 and 11 – were moved to an orphanage in Poland. After spending $60,000 on the adoption process, DeLeon and his wife were finally in the last month they would not be approved for the adoption because he was an ex-convict.
“I got out of prison 18 years ago,” he said. “My mom’s murder and the crimes that I committed to go along with it happened in 1995, but (the adoption agency would) rather leave three little girls in an orphanage in Poland than give them to us.
“Your choices and your decisions don’t just affect you. Your choices and decisions affect everyone around you, and it’s going to affect you the rest of your life.”
Original article: https://www.murrayledger.com/news/speaker-tells-personal-story-about-substance-abuse-struggle-to-local-students/article_1ad46a76-7f92-11ef-84f6-dbb6caa49682.html