ATLANTA, Ga. — A felon who spent nearly two decades in prison says he is on a mission to keep children from making the same mistakes he did.
Myron Fountaine, who is known on social media as “The Prison Dr.,” served 19 years in prison after he was convicted of vehicular armed robbery.
“My mission when I came home was to prevent our kids from going to that place I went to,” said Fountaine, who just returned from Washington state, where he was working with at-risk youth.
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Fountaine told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that he was not surprised to learn that the deadly shooting near Atlantic Station was gang-related.
“Parents are calling me because there’s no father in the home,” he said. “These kids are drawn to these gangs because the gangs are what makes them feel that they are being accepted, so I break up that myth.”
Since 2019, Fountaine has been hearing from metro Atlanta parents who are concerned and worried about their loved ones falling victim to the gang and gun culture that’s plagued the area.
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“Many of these kids are looking for a role model, a father figure who can set a positive example,” he said.
Fountaine says he has helped hundreds of kids and his success rate is near-perfect.
In fact, Fountaine gave Channel 2 exclusive access to one of his house calls in Gwinnett County, where he’s spent nearly a year working with an 11-year-old boy who was having major issues at home.
“I saw him gravitating toward the wrong crowd,” said Kelly Gray, who explained how she started to notice a change in her son’s behavior after his father passed away. “He was very heavily into social media and he was just going in the wrong direction.”
She said as soon as Fountaine answered her call for help, she immediately noticed a difference in her son’s behavior.
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“From his words to his actions, he’s more respectful,” she said. “He’s more thoughtful and he’s the son I’ve always wanted.”
Fountaine launched a nonprofit and does not make any money from his mentoring. He says he’s very excited about expanding across the country, but he knows it won’t be easy, so he is looking for donations and volunteers.
If you would like to help out, you can find all the information HERE.
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