Today we’d like to introduce you to Dez Alvarado.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Compton California, but grew up in Long Beach, on the North Side. Both of my parents were immigrants. My father from Mexico, and my mother from the island of Samoa. I grew up in a home where 3 languages were spoken. We were taught to have respect for our elders and to honor our parents. Outside of our home was a different story. Gangs, drugs, prostitution, murders, poverty, racially motivated wars and more were prevalent. All this was normal to me growing up. I didn’t know anything other than what I was seeing everyday.
At early age, we were bullied because no one really understood my mother’s native language (Samoan), so we were made fun of because of that. This caused us to engage in fist fights with our neighbors and other kids in the surrounding areas. Growing up in a predominantly black and hispanic neighborhood, we were misunderstood. We started to get into more trouble with the neighborhood kids and at school. My environment eventually led me and 3 of my 5 other siblings to joining a gang.
My first incarceration was at the age 10 for an arm robbery that I was falsely accused of. Being sent away on a crime I’ve never committed at 10 years old really had an affect on me, negatively, and it put me on a fast track to a life of destruction. By the time I was 15, I was certified as an adult and sent to an adult prison. I paroled in my earl 20’s, violated and caught a Federal case. During all of my years of incarceration, there were no programs available violent offenders like myself. Watching others over the years being allowed to program and to prepare themselves upon their release, gave me a lot of hateful thoughts and mixed emotions. Upon my release from Federal Prison at the age of 35, I was lost, confused, angry, scared. I had this pressure on me to just figure things out, go find a job, go get an ID, go get your social security card, go find a place to stay, call the utility company and turn on your utilities, find transportation, learn bus routes, pay your restitution, call in for your drug test, check in with your parole officer, show up and complete your required classes to successfully complete parole, be denied a job opportunity because of my background, be denied a place to stay because of my background, being denied a bank account because of no credit history, being denied of a vehicle because of no credit history, denied utilities at place of residence because of no credit history, being denied of MANY things and I’m supposed to stay positive? I’m supposed to FEEL like I have a chance? I was 15 years old when I went in and I’m supposed to know what to do when I get out at 35 years old?
I was out 2 weeks, in the midst of switching to a new parole officer,
I found myself back in a federal holding cell, on a parole violation for not attending a “drug” class. It was just easier for me to go back to a life that I’ve known for so many years. I gave up. I was an angry individual again. I blamed a lot of people, including the system for failing me.
My new parole officer came to visit me and after our conversation, she seen something in me that I didn’t realize at the time. Because she believed that I could succeed, with her help, she gave me the inspiration and motivation I needed to try once more.
Solo Toala was an ex convict that I’ve done time with in the past and he gave me a job opportunity that forever changed my life and I then turned around and helped many more after me, change their life. I didn’t realize that I had drawn out a blueprint for formerly incarcerated individuals to succeed. I realized later that what Solo and I was doing to keep these individuals out, to help them grow and succeed, the root of the answer to the formerly incarcerated population, was a strong support group. A “lived experience” support group.
This has NEVER been discussed, utilized, implemented, in any capacity, anywhere.
We realized that “showing”, instead of “talking”, about change, gave people of lived experiences hope, and that change is possible.
Day Won was created in 2021 by Sam Pule and myself in 2021. We started mentoring and sponsoring youths within our immediate circle of friends and families. As our work grew, we met Mike Ulibarri who invited Day Won to do volunteer mentorship in the juvenile detention facilities in Salt Lake City. Word spread of our work and it caught the attention of Saroeum Phoung with The Peacemaking Institute and Sim Gill, the head of the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office. Together, we have been working on creating a youth Diversion Program to give them an opportunity at a 2nd chance. This youth Diversion/Mentorship program will be launched by the end of this year.
Day Won is heavily involved with the community with our Intervention, Prevention, Suppression program, offering youths many resources for them and their families. Sponsorship programs, job and trade opportunities, mentorship, community building and more. We host several annual events like our Back to School, Trunk or Treat, Thanksgiving, and Christmas events that brings in over 2000 plus people which includes our Resource partners, local business owners, City Officials, Police Departments and State Representatives all who partake in and give support to help give and reinvest back into the communities to breed future leaders. We do all this and more, and we do this by being independent and self funded. Our success, is built on trust, integrity, respect, loyalty, and peace. We serve all ethnicities. We do not judge or discriminate.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road is never smooth when you’re trying to do good. Our struggles were many. Because of our criminal past, false rumors were floating around about our team. Some of our close friends also had doubts about our intentions due to lack of information and false information.. Those that knew me, a person with integrity, helped put them false rumors to rest. We won them over by our actions. As men, we talked and addressed what was misunderstood. Our other struggles were monetary. To try and do any of this work, requires money. To host events, cost money. To feed people, cost money. To give out school supplies and so on, cost money. We’ve survived by putting in our own money, received donations from friends and families. Finding space to host our events have been a struggle in the past. Finding real organizations that claims to do this type of work to show up have been a struggle. Dealing with organizations that steal our work and claim it as their own, have been a struggle. It’s a struggle to avoid conflict between two organizations that we collaborate with. Seperating Day Won from any political and religious beliefs has been a struggle. We respect all political and religious views.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a Superintendent with Burnt Mountain Services, in Lindon Utah. We have a Gas and Traffic Control Division. We install natural gas for commercial and residential customers. Our safety and quality work is known throughout the Gas industry. We pride ourselves in our approach and professionalism with our customers, clients, and the public. We’ve set the bar high to where it’s even hard for us to reach. Our quality and safety is unmatched.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
With our Day Won and The Peacemaking Institute healing circle curriculum, work we’re doing in the system and community, I have no doubt that it will grow nationwide because we now have “lived experiences” working alongside the system. The criminal justice system here in Utah, realizes the value it brings to those that are still incarcerated and those that are on parole, how its helped them not just to deal with their traumas, but to heal from them as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Thepeacemakinginstitute.org
- Instagram: daywonutah
- Facebook: day won utah
