Shawn King - Baltimore County Detention Center
Where do you attend church? St. Michaels Luthern Church
What’s your favorite Bible Verse? Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
At which facility do you serve? Baltimore County Detention Center
Why did you decide to volunteer inside the jails? I was detained for 6 months and saw how much talent was rotting on the vine in jail.
Is there one person you have connected with inside? Yes, several people both inside and now released.
What skills do you have that make you successful in your service? Empathetic, motivational, passionate, I have been a computer engineer for 25 years. AI can help level the playing field for our disadvantaged youth.
What will change the climate of youth violence in Baltimore? Violence in Baltimore isn’t random. It’s predictable. It grows where people feel unseen, unprotected, and disposable—and where institutions respond after harm instead of before despair. When boys grow up without dependable fathers, coaches, mentors, or neighbors who check on them daily, the street fills the vacuum. The street always shows up on time. Men I met behind bars didn’t lack intelligence. They lacked purpose. When someone believes their life has no future, risk disappears. Baltimore won’t heal until men heal. And men heal fastest when: their story is heard, their shame is acknowledged, and their responsibility is reclaimed.
Anything you would like to add? I miss leading the prayer circle with the young men who became like little brothers to me while being detained. I hope I can serve that same capacity volunteering for uncuffed.
Shawn King - Baltimore County Detention Center
Where do you attend church? St. Michaels Luthern Church
What’s your favorite Bible Verse? Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
At which facility do you serve? Baltimore County Detention Center
Why did you decide to volunteer inside the jails? I was detained for 6 months and saw how much talent was rotting on the vine in jail.
Is there one person you have connected with inside? Yes, several people both inside and now released.
What skills do you have that make you successful in your service? Empathetic, motivational, passionate, I have been a computer engineer for 25 years. AI can help level the playing field for our disadvantaged youth.
What will change the climate of youth violence in Baltimore? Violence in Baltimore isn’t random. It’s predictable. It grows where people feel unseen, unprotected, and disposable—and where institutions respond after harm instead of before despair. When boys grow up without dependable fathers, coaches, mentors, or neighbors who check on them daily, the street fills the vacuum. The street always shows up on time. Men I met behind bars didn’t lack intelligence. They lacked purpose. When someone believes their life has no future, risk disappears. Baltimore won’t heal until men heal. And men heal fastest when: their story is heard, their shame is acknowledged, and their responsibility is reclaimed.
Anything you would like to add? I miss leading the prayer circle with the young men who became like little brothers to me while being detained. I hope I can serve that same capacity volunteering for uncuffed.
Where do you attend church? St. Michaels Luthern Church
What’s your favorite Bible Verse? Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
At which facility do you serve? Baltimore County Detention Center
Why did you decide to volunteer inside the jails? I was detained for 6 months and saw how much talent was rotting on the vine in jail.
Is there one person you have connected with inside? Yes, several people both inside and now released.
What skills do you have that make you successful in your service? Empathetic, motivational, passionate, I have been a computer engineer for 25 years. AI can help level the playing field for our disadvantaged youth.
What will change the climate of youth violence in Baltimore? Violence in Baltimore isn’t random. It’s predictable. It grows where people feel unseen, unprotected, and disposable—and where institutions respond after harm instead of before despair. When boys grow up without dependable fathers, coaches, mentors, or neighbors who check on them daily, the street fills the vacuum. The street always shows up on time. Men I met behind bars didn’t lack intelligence. They lacked purpose. When someone believes their life has no future, risk disappears. Baltimore won’t heal until men heal. And men heal fastest when: their story is heard, their shame is acknowledged, and their responsibility is reclaimed.
Anything you would like to add? I miss leading the prayer circle with the young men who became like little brothers to me while being detained. I hope I can serve that same capacity volunteering for uncuffed.