Gilbert Salinas

Gilbert Salinas, 25, has been confined to a wheelchair for nearly a decade, after being accidentally shot by one of his best friends. He spent 26 days in a coma after the shooting and six months at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California. There, he spent six months undergoing intensive therapy to learn how to adapt to living in a wheelchair.

Mr. Salinas was raised in the Los Angeles area, surrounded by violence, gangs, drugs and guns. A former gang member himself, he knows the streets and understands many of the kids that he works with in South Central, Compton, Watts and East LA. As a child, Mr. Salinas witnessed the violence around him and soon became caught in the cycle himself. He ended up in juvenile and adult detention centers, and turned his life around only after witnessing one of his cousins and a childhood friend get murdered in front of his eyes.

As he began his transformation, Mr. Salinas began to think differently and connected with positive role models, including his greatest supporter Dr. Luis Montes, Director of the Children's Pediatric Rehabilitation Department. The support, mentoring and training he received from Teens on Target and other organizations led him to assume leadership roles for the organization and other related violence prevention efforts. Mr. Salinas is also a program manager for the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Family Project. Through this program, he works with patients who are victims of violence and provides them with resources, guidance and empowerment through education to help them enter mainstream society once they are released from the hospital.

Mr. Salinas has received many local and national awards for his excellent work with youth throughout the Los Angeles community. He has shared a podium at workshops and conferences with President Clinton, Senators, State Assembly members, City Council members and other dignitaries. He has been featured in local, state and national newspapers; in journals; and on radio and television, including PBS, CNN and, most recently, MTV during a live panel discussion on youth violence.

He is most proud of the young lives he touches by sharing his personal story, his devotion to his community and his plans to achieve a graduate degree. With a 3.8 GPA, Mr. Salinas earned an Associates degree in liberal arts from Cerritos Community College and is currently working on his B.A. in psychology. His hobbies include wheelchair sports (hockey), horseback riding, kayaking, working out and reading.