Damian Coleman, coordinator of mentors for the Black Tie Guys program, has a zeal to help boys make better choices than he did as a youth.
As a youth, Coleman spent several years in the juvenile system for a variety of offenses. He tells youth, it was the consequence of bad choices.
After spending a large chunk of his life on the streets without direction, Coleman changed his path and his spent the last decade trying to warn others to waste valuable years involved with violence and lawlessness.
After finishing his prison term he began a ministry called "Life Changers of Northeast Louisiana" in which he focused his energy on trying to direct youth to a better path.
His ministry is not in building; it's house to house, person to person "in the streets."
Two years ago he saw young men he knew with pistols and automatic weapons on Monroe's Southside. He knew something was about to happen and as he was talking to one group trying to get them not participate in shootout another group drove up to and opened fire with automatic weapons. He was the only person shot.
Afterward recovering, Coleman returned to the streets, talking against violence to try to make a difference.
He brings that same passion to the Black Tie Guys Program. He has a son enrolled in the program and wants to help him avoid his own life mistakes.
He is a man who has dedicated his life to making difference.