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OPTIMISTIC GENTS AND LADYS

As an organization of returning citizens and allies with vast, diverse experience, we are determined to reduce youth violence and addiction in the DMV, increase employment and housing opportunities, facilitate access to social services, enhance educational opportunities, and put trained individuals in troubled neighborhoods. We bring wisdom from the past to brighten the future.

Incorporated in D.C. in 2023 as a 501c(3), the “OGLs” is a group of nearly one hundred concerned citizens, most of whom have served significant time in prison. We are determined to reduce burgeoning youth violence in D.C. The District of Columbia’s murder rate increased by 35% from 2022 to 2023 (more than any year since 1997), and violent crime increased by 39%. (MPD https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance). Nineteen of the fatalities were kids, 16 felled by gunfire. More than 100 children were shot. It has to stop. We do not want anyone, particularly the youth of the city, to make the same mistakes we did. We speak from experience. We use our experiences to impart our wisdom to create a better future. Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.