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I'm Dennis Pegues.
I work with youth whose parents are incarcerated.
The reason I work with teens is because
I find that they want to change;
they just don't know how—they don't have the resources.
I listen to them,
give them counsel about what they should do with their life.
One thing I want to do is reach the kids.
So I ask what it is they like to do.
And they like to play basketball.
Well, we had a basketball court,
so I opened the church up.
Every Tuesday night they come in and play basketball.
Some come back and tell me later
that they had taken a hiatus because
of what their friends had said to them.
But eventually they come back and they say,
"You know, Brother Pegues, I went away, and my life changed
for the worse. I want to come back now
and listen to what you have to say."
And I welcome them back.
This is La'Darius.
He plays basketball with us on Tuesday nights.
He's been coming, I think for about four, five months now.
He came one Tuesday night and said, "I'm going to be 20."
And I said, "Really?"
So I went to Dairy Queen and got him a big birthday cake
with his name on it, brought it, acted like I didn't remember,
pulled him to the side, took him in the kitchen,
brought the cake out, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.
They told me later that
when they were taking him home,
he said no one had ever done that for him before.
So we can teach them how to get their education,
go to college to get the necessary skills
and resources to be a prod- uctive citizen.
And that's what it's really all about.
I'm Dennis Pegues.
I spend my time working with kids whose parents
are incarcerated, and I'm a Mormon.