Saved from the Streets – Escaping Gang Life
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JACKSON, Tenn. – If you believe there is no hope for someone initiated into a street gang, think again. Mychal Hunt, a life-long Jacksonian, is proof otherwise. But as a young teen, anyone who knew him would have sworn he was headed to prison or worse. “We were robbing, stealing, fighting, everything you can imagine,” Hunt recalls. He grew up a “statistic.” His father was in prison in Ohio. Hunt’s mother worked around the clock to provide for him. “While she was working third shift thinking I was at home, I’d be out running the streets with my friends,” he confessed. Hunt was drawn to life he was immersed in living on the fringes of Lincoln Courts. It was a gangster lifestyle. He was lured by the danger, notoriety and the protection it promised. “These guys, we would do anything for each other,” he said. At 16, he was initiated or “jumped” into a gang. It is a violent act, a physical beating, that serves as a baptism into the brotherhood. “On top of being in a gang, I was also in a rap group,” Hunt added. “The rap group I was in was just as bad as any gang.” With gang members around him and the ability to rap, Hunt was able to get into any night club or bar in the area. “We would go to clubs, smoke, drink, fights,” he said. “That was my life.” Hunt acknowledges the things he did could have easily landed him in prison. He just never got caught. The teen also had more protection than most. Though affiliated with a street gang, his rap lyrics bridged the gap between other gangs. Rivals would even pay for his studio time. “They pushed us because we were a voice, the voice of what was going on in the streets,” he recalled. That musical talent is what led to his life changing for ever. While working with a producer, the man’s wife overheard his lyrics and confronted him. She told him at 17-years-old, he was too young to talk like that and invited him to church. Hunt , an atheist, said no. “But the producer said I’ll give you free studio time,” he said. And that changed the teen’s mind. Hunt admits he said yes for purely selfish reasons. One service in March of 2008 at Family Life Fellowship in Brownsville saved Mychal Hunt. “The way that message was shared with me, it was so full of love,” he remembered. “There was no judgment.” Hunt felt loved and accepted despite the heinous things he was doing on the streets. “That one night everything changed,” he proclaimed. A new Christian, Hunt immediately began pulling away from his friends. “They could tell I had changed and started falling away,” he said. While many are beaten or even killed for trying to break free from a gang, Hunt never faced repercussions. He said he never actually approached his gang leadership about leaving. “It’s definitely hard to get out,” he admits. “But when God steps in and has a plan, I’m telling you nothing else can trump that.” Now at 23-years-old, Hunt works as a mentor at Area Relief Ministries’ HUB Club in Hillcrest Circle. The after school and summer program serves some of Jackson’s most at-risk children. “I want them to know they can make it out of this mentality,” he said. “I want them to know there is more to life than a gang.” Along with helping with homework and playing sports and video games, the Hub Club children are taught a daily Bible verse. The HUB nurtures mind, body and soul. Hunt also serves as the youth pastor at Family Life Fellowship Church in Brownsville, the same church he heard the message that changed his life. Hope – that is why Hunt shares his story. He wants to prove there is hope for anyone. That is why he still lives in the heart of east Jackson and works every day to save someone else from the streets. Hunt continues to rap, but has a very different message with his words. You can watch his latest video “Cold World” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDHwkSma624&feature=youtube_gdata_player
