ORLANDO, Fla. — For years, the historic Black community known as the Mercy Drive corridor in Orlando has had problems with drugs and gang violence.

Marcus Brown grew up in that community and fought his way out.

What You Need To Know

  • After having a hard time on the streets of Orlando, Marcus Brown decided to go to college and reshape his life. He says he never forgot his roots and always wanted to give back to his hometown community

  • He says he never forgot his roots and always wanted to give back to his hometown community

  • Brown founded iHope Mentoring about seven years ago so young men in the Mercy Drive community would know they have leaders in the community to lean on

  • The young mentees meet with mentors twice a week at the Northwest Community Center in Orlando.

“You’ve got to have this undeniable belief in yourself that I can actually do this,” Brown said.

Those inspiring words came from the founder of iHope Mentoring. Brown and other dedicated mentors lead a group of young men weekly, teaching them life lessons and giving them community leaders to lean on.

Brown started iHope Mentoring in 2018, looking to give encouragement to a new generation and letting them know that a life on the streets is not the way to go.

Brown says he knows this firsthand.

“I went broke before I went to the grave. Being in the streets, hustling, selling drugs, it can kind of throw you," Brown said. "You have this false sense of reality and what life looks like.”

So, Brown decided he needed to make a change. The catalyst was he financially lost everything.

“After that took place, I move went to Baltimore, went to college, got two degrees from Morgan State University. When I come back, how do I come back?” he said.

When he first returned to Florida, Brown started helping feed the homeless, and soon after, iHope Mentoring was born.

Brown and other dedicated mentors spend time coaching youths like Charles Frank to have confidence and lean on mentors for worldly advice.

“They just want to teach us, like, from their past experience to better ourselves and not take the way that they probably did and make some of mistakes that they did as well because they want us to be better,” Frank said.

The dedicated group led by Brown said they will keep coming back each week, helping the next generation turn a blind eye to life on the streets.

If you know someone like Brown who goes above and beyond serving the community, click here to send in a nomination.