BRAG Boxing program at St. Barnabas Hospital turning around lives
NEW YORK – A boxing program in the Bronx is changing the lives of teenagers and young adults in the borough in an unexpected location in Fordham.
“The corner of your eyes, it blinks out. Everything is focused,” said Xavier Torres.
It’s taken years for Torres, 24, to find a vision this clear.
“Everything went full circle,” he said.
His safe haven is a boxing gym inside St. Barnabas Hospital. The unassuming location is giving him a reset on life.
“My mom got evicted twice in the same year and she was the only income,” said Torres. “What I did was just drop out of high school, just made a sacrifice.”
Torres is part of the new, year-round boxing program designed to help at-risk youth stay off the streets during the evening hours.
“I started getting more excited with myself. More excited for my future,” he said.
“If they don’t find community here, then they’ll find community elsewhere,” said Amanda Martinez, a community coordinator at SBH Health System.
Source: CBS2