From Prison Shot Caller to Community Leader Pt. 2 | Dave Duroucher

Welcome to Part 2 of Dave Duroucher's episode of the All My Friends Are Felons Podcast. Dave describes his childhood self as "Dennis the Mennis on steroids." He came from a solid home but by age 12, he started committing crimes which led him down the path of drug addiction and time behind bars. In prison, he became a shot caller for his gang, but eventually realized that his life was on a horrible trajectory. Through hard work and self-reform, Dave sought therapy and was able to turn his life around with the help of Delancey Street. Tune in to hear the rest of his incredible story of transformation and hope. 

• Becoming the shot caller and an animal 1:40
• Cop chase and going back to prison for life 10:50
• Pleading for another path 14:50
• Treatment centers: “The size of the solution does not match the size of the problem” 20:00
• Dave’s story is not unique and few understand the truth 35:05
• Therapeutic communities are working miracles 38:00
• Adderall 40:55
• Our understanding of the system is wrong 51:00
• Advice to help someone on a similar path 63:40
• The Other Side Academy 66:30
• Changing our prisons 72:00

“Mark, listen to me when I say this. I was a liar, a cheater, a thief, a manipulator, a violent, self-centered, self seeking–I had become an animal in a human body. I had become an animal, and we live in a world today where we’re like ‘*Gasp* You can’t say that to people!’ Why? Why can’t we tell people the truth? It wasn’t until I got to Delancey Street that my peers told me who I was that I was able to change. We are so deathly afraid to tell people the truth. I wouldn’t be here today if people didn’t point out who I had become. That is who I’d become!” 4:10