Welcome to Champions For Change. Im dr. Sanjay gupta. This hour we will spotlight people who are changing the way things are done. Theyre not celebrities. Theyre not politicians, but they are reshaping the world with creativity, passion and heart. Later in the show youre going to meet my champion for change, but first, cnn anchor and former track star ana cabrera catches up with a coach and mentor for some determined girls who are lacing up their Running Shoes and chasing down dreams. Go get them go get them i wouldnt be the person i am today without her. Excellent, baby girl. Jean bell wears a lot of hat, shes a coach, a judge, a friend. To me, shes a dream maker. Hat shes a coach, a judge, a friend. To me, shes a dream maker. Ive been coaching my own team jeuness for 37 years. What does jeuness mean . Its a french word for young ladies. I wanted to coach young girls as they became young women. I can let them know that education is the key to their success. What coach jean does on the track is volunteer work. Her day job is as an administrative judge Hearing Workers Comp cases every day. I leave here to drive each day to have practice. These are the goals for todays practice. Most of the girls come from brooklyn and those areas that are underserved. They face teen pregnancy, drug use. You dont have to look for trouble. Its just out there waiting for you. This is where you grew up. Yes. Right here in Freeport Houses in brooklyn. I had two brothers and two sisters and we were cramped in a small apartment, the seven of us. What do you remember about living here . I remember that it was a dangerous place. There was a lot of crime, a lot of gangs and a lot of drugs. I wanted to escape the poverty, and i wanted Something Better for myself. It was your own experience that has inspired you to want more for others. We knew that education was our way out. Up and down with your arms thats good im one of five kids in my family and we grew up without a lot of money. My dads a runner, and i enjoyed running. I remember that determination my dad saw as a runner himself and he really helped nurture that. I was able to get a College Scholarship which took me to Washington State university. The main focus of my team is to assist the girls in getting Athletic Scholarships to go to college, to build successful lives. How many of you, show of hands, plan to go to college . My goal is to get a full scholarship to college from running track. My goal is to get a scholarship and start my own business. Who here thinks jean is tough . Keep your hand up if you think youre better because jean is tough. She shows you tough love, but in the end you know its coming from a good place because she knows what youre capable of. Shes now 16, she has big dreams. She wants to become a pediatric surgeon. When i first started running on the team, my selfconfidence was definitely low. You dont always win everything. It just has to motivate you more to just strive to do your best going forward. She definitely has high expectation for all of us. Why Track And Field . Youre out there on that track, that lane, facing only the starters gun and yourself, running makes you tough. Strong in mind, strong in spirit, going after what you want. Dont be afraid to run out there. The work ethic that i got from running on jeuness, it follows me throughout my life and throughout my career. You were a Long Distance runner. I got a scholarship at st. Johns university and im a controller, and i would love to be a vp of finance. She used to scream across the track, come on, come on and if i could hear her in my head. If you were able to talk to jean, what would you tell her . I would say that i love you and thank you for everything. I dont see myself as a champion, but i like to think that i make champions. While ana went the distance with those runners, cnns poppy harlow crossed the finish line earning her masters of studies in law from yale. One of her unassuming teachers there turn out to be a Courtroom Fire Brand for some of the most desperate people in the justice system. When youre on death row thats when the clock starts ticking. He said ill do my best and yes, he saved my life. I said im not going to make it through this. I cant do 25 years in prison. People have been the most desperate, the most despised, unfortunately, and the poorest and powerless people in the country. Stephen bright is a lawyer, but for his clients, he is their last hope. I met him when i walked into his class at yale law school. Thank to you both in atlanta and here theres one less person facing execution in georgia today. Listening to him talk is like listening to justice. If we dont do better were going to have to sandblast equal justice under law off the Supreme Court building. What does the Southern Center for human rights stand for . Representing the people facing the Death Penalty and representing people in jails with regard to unconstitutional conditions and practices. I wanted to go where the problems were and where i could be helpful. He has argued four Capital Punishment cases before the Supreme Court and he won them all. Youve often said people are always much more than the worse thing than theyve ever done. Of course. Tony is the perfect example. I get up in the morning and make me a cup of coffee and think about my blessings and what brought me here. Tony amadeo served 38 years for his involvement in two murders. Im responsible for their grief, my familys grief. I am deeply, deeply sorry. How close was tony amadeo from being put to death . We threw a Hail Mary Pass by asking the Supreme Court to take the case. He won in a unanimous decision. The evidence discloses an intentional program of rigging the jury by the prosecutors office. Why do you represent people that you know have committed murder . Everyone has to be represented if the legal system is going to work. If you talk about a champion for change, youre talking about somebody that makes an individual commitment for the betterment of other people. Im getting emotional. I certainly wouldnt have been the kind of lawyer i became without his model. Civil rights attorney Brian Stephenson started working with bright right out of law school. He would go on to found the equal justice initiative, in a lot of ways it does become like ministry. I think you cant actually appreciate the burdens of the condemned, of the poor, of the marginalized if you havent tried to carry some of those burdens. You have to let your heart be broken. Yes. Thats right. Steve made it safe to love the people you represent. Someone like shana shackleford. What happened in 2009 . My house burned down. I ended up getting blamed. We lose everything, end up homeless, and i was charged with firstdegree arson. They offered me 25 years at first. 25 years in prison . Yes. For a fire you didnt set. Right. And then you wrote a letter to someone. I received a letter just two weeks ago. Oh, my god, i have not seen this letter in forever. Ive lost my job. Ive lost my home. Ive lost my dog, and now i sleep in my car. Im tired and im beaten and i dont understand how to fight this. Its been days now since ive eaten. So bright took on her case for free. What happened to the charges . They were dropped. Dropped. Because hed done a few weeks of investigation. It was determined that it was actually an electrical fire. How long has it been since you saw him . About a decade now . What would you say if you got to see him . Thank you for saving my life. We thought it would be nice if you could tell him yourself. Because of his teaching and influence, hes doing more than most people to make sure that that legacy is carried on by new generations of lawyers and advocates, but nothings ever quite as good as the original. The o. G. Now from an idealistic lawyer to a lawman on a mission, up next, we will ride along with a beloved police chief who set a new tone for Law Enforcement. Welcome back to Champions For Change. With all of the scrutiny Law Enforcement now faces, you might be surprised to hear that one of the most admired people in westport, connecticut, is the police chief. Cnns Alisyn Camerota rode along with this innovative top cop and found out why hes so revered. Youre going to get in the car and youre going to take me for a drive. Youre going to go to a ride. I moved to the u. S. From greece at the age of 11 and not knowing a word of english, i started as a Police Officer in 1996. What i found is that chief foti has managed to successfully straddle the line between being procop and procommunity. Its a good steppingstone. Foti started looking into these issues years before george floyd. We saw out of him a commitment to look at what was going on in the police force and establish a set of standards. The day of the George Floyd Incident we were not back peddling and backtracking and making excuses or even fighting the changes. We had already made the changes, choke holds and theyre all common sense, every Police Department should be doing this. I think he takes so seriously the idea that he is the police chief of everyone whether its the lgbtq rally, black lives matter. Foti was in the middle of it showing that he was there. I stand here with you. I march with you. I specifically said to the group that i will kneel with you, but i will kneel with you for a moment of silence. I will kneel with you for a moment of prayer, and i will kneel for you against police brutality. I will absolutely not kneel with you against police and i will not kneel with you against the flag. I have challenged the status quo. At times i got in trouble for challenging the status quo, but i wouldnt change a thing about it. If i didnt i wouldnt be where i am today. Always challenge the status quo. Now on to another community, this one scattered by the war in ukraine. Erin burnett met three siblings who built great lives for themselves in the United States, today theyre providing crucial help for fellow ukrainians who are fleeing for their lives. Mariupol, ukraine, last christmas. Mariupol, ukraine now. Since the start of the war more than 7 people have been forced to flee ukraine. Alex velychko came to the u. S. , and they started a small and thriving Business OperatingCar Dealerships when putin invaded ukraine their lives changed, too. We started calling our relatives, friends, asking how they are there and people were panicking. Yeah. The conditions was pretty bad. So, alex, tell me about the first family that you helped escape . Translator hes my childhood friend. We met when we were 5 or 6 years old. I met them, and their daughter was about to celebrate their 7th birthday and at times it is still so hard for them to even tell their story. Translator an Explosion Wave took out our front door and looters came in and took whatever they liked. We decided that we have to help them get them out from there somehow. They took them 19 days to get from mariupol to the ukrainian border. They had an 8monthold baby. In the early days of the war, i left with Hundreds And Thousands of refugees it took 19 hours and it was a grueling experience, and in the context, you think wow the suffering that they endured and what they went through, the trauma, is really unimaginable. The velychkos reached out to the local organization and its the edith and mark Jewish Community house and they worked with them and the united appeal to help the urozovs and so many other families who were trying to flee ukraine and come to the United States to start a new life. They first lived in alexs onebedroom apartment in brooklyn. One bedroom, one bathroom and in that space he and his wife have hosted as many as 12 refugees at once. Translator of course, we have our challenges, but at the end of it all i understand that they dont have anything else. They have nowhere to go. They are doing a noble thing. They help people get out of the country where the war is under way. Alexander uses the war noble and thats what alex, angela and nick are, sacrificing their time and their hardearned success just to help others have a chance to build new dreams. From fleeing violence abroad to preventing it right here in the United States. A pastors bold plan to disrupt gun violence. Thats next. Been meaning to ask you, carl. Does your firm offer personalized Index Investing . Hmm . So i can remove a stock that doesnt align with my goals. Im a broker, not a barista. What about managing gains and losses to be more Tax Efficient . Not a wizard either. Looks like schwab Personalized Indexing can. Schwaaab learn more about Personalized Indexing at schwab today. Wolf blitzer grew up in buffalo, new york, and hes always supported his home team. Dion dawkins is a star lineman for the buffalo bills. He wasnt born there, but he embraced the community starting a Youth Mentorship Program called dions dreamers. This past may a gunman killed shoppers at a Tops Supermarket. What dawkins did next made him wolfs champion for change. My focus just changed from being the bigger brother to actually feeding people and giving them the supplies that they would go to tops to get. Dion held a number of special events after the massacre to raise money for some of the funds that have been set up for the families. Who drives . Lets do it. If its a concert, backpacks, school day, whatever it might be to help that community at that moment, lets get it done. My parents were outsiders who came here, could barely speak english, had very little money and the city of buffalo, new york, welcomed them and it makes me proud that people like dion are doing what theyre doing and the secret is literally the people here. The people make buffalo everything. People are always the most important. Mass shootings like the one in buffalos Tops Supermarket often steal the headlines, but far more deaths occur as part of a result of vicious murders and revenge. Jim sciuttos champion is disrupting that pattern with help from folks who have been there. The people are the most important part of any city. People in the land have a story around violence that is systemic and the trauma related to that story is often not told and even sometimes trivialized. I am committed to ensuring that we can live in communities that are free from gun violence. Gun violence is almost a daily story. I am here in el paso. I remember covering the el paso shooting in 2019 and then quickly moving from el paso to dayton. Together, 31 people were killed in these two american communities. Its impossible to feel how pervasive it is the fact that violence in this country is that most gun deaths dont take place in mass shootings. By and large, gun violence in this country is over represented with suicides. About 30something percent of gun deaths in this country are a result of interpersonal conflicts that are associated with quotes, or cliques, quote, unquote, in communities. This has to be seen as a Public Health issue and it has to be seen as an extension of social political conditions. It is truly a vicious, deadly cycle and someone who gets killed in a shooting or wounded and theres an act of revenge and thats what pastor mike and his group and others working with him are trying to stop. Tell me why this place is so important to you . One of my young people, his name was larry, he got killed right here. I told him, if you can just graduate, bro, everything in your life will be better. And he did it. He did everything i told him to do and we still ended up having to bury him. I did a funeral for larry, and i asked the young people how many young people had been to at least one funeral and 500 young people put up their hand. Im not doing enough. Its part of a raw ecosystem and we connect directly with the Outreach Workers or the families who have been shot or are at high risk of being engaged in shooting. If youve been shot or someone you love and youre close to, its emotional and fearful. How do you convince people not to shoot them . Find that person at their point of despair and help them pause. What you decide today can actually create another cycle where well be at the hospital tomorrow or the next night. The key is to have individuals who can have multiple conversations, incredible messengers and people that have relationships in the street and they do lots of groundwork to ease the tensions. What was the First Experience of the violence yourself . Standing there, drive by. I still have the scar right here. Two inches away from death as a kid. How old were you . 10. Giving false promises in this environment for a long time. Im going to tell the kids the truth. This is how youll come up. If you want to live this way, youll follow my path. It aint squeaky clean. Follow my lead, it will work for you. In other ways its like they see it now. At first it was like you want to be the good guy. No, i want to live. Can you describe an example where your approach worked . You got there in time and you prevented the next shooting. Its hard to count shootings that dont happen, but over time we can say that at the height of our fiveyear production we were under 65 homicides when our height was around 120something homicides. There is no hero or silver bullet. We have to have community in this. We have to have Public Health and mental health, behavior health, employment and opportu