Opelousas native Loren Carriere said he was led down the wrong path with drugs and alcohol within the community.
When he was released from jail he wanted to change the world, but he had to change himself first.
“Being in jail wearing the orange jumpsuit and shackles was not a great feeling," said Carriere. "I didn't like being viewed as a criminal, it was an embarrassing moment for me.”
Carriere went back to UL and graduated in 2005. After school, he had a job fixing guitars, but he wanted to help fix the community and the only way to do that was to connect with kids from the area.
“We looked over and we were like "who is this guy walking through the park'," said Tavian Guilbeaux. "He got us together and told us about the program. It helped us with school and gave us something to do so it was a no-brainer to me.”
He started a non-profit named Hope for Opelousas. Community work isn't the highest-paying job. In the beginning, it was tough for Carriere.
“My wife home-schooled all our kids for a long time," said Carriere. "We bought an old house that nobody wanted and rebuilt it ourselves.”
The relationships Carriere has built have helped a program that had 20 kids a few years ago grow to 100 kids. Carriere enjoys seeing the growth and becoming adults in the world.
“You never know what will happen when you plant the seed," said Carriere. "When you faithfully water the seed and give it the support it needs - that’s what we have here at HFO.”
