Former gang leader/drug dealer to speak in Drayton

by Glynis M Belec

DRAYTON

Michael Bull Roberts from Toronto will bare his soul and share his incredible story at the Drayton Reformed Church on Sept. 30 at 7pm. Roberts, an award-winning author and artist who works with youth through Tender Heart Ministries, enjoys talking to audiences in schools and churches. His real passion is meeting with youth who are on the verge of making poor life decisions. Michael “The Bull” Roberts has been there and knows the consequences.

“I work with youth because I see many of them taking paths and making wrong decisions that once led me [down the wrong road,]” says Roberts.

He feels part of his ministry, now, is to dish out a warning and to help young men and women turn their lives around so they do not have to endure the horrors he did.

Roberts knows he cannot undo his past but he is keen to relive his own youth by helping young people stay on track. He feels by sharing his story, he can deter young people from making the same bad decisions he made.

“In having relationships with these youth, I get to watch them grow into a life I never had. I get to live with them in the joys of all their success.”

Roberts recalls longing for love and for someone to protect him. He wants to be that person to those who might be crossing the line into a life of crime and corruption.  

“The youth are truly, indeed, our future and [that is] where we need to be investing our time as mentors and leaders,” he says.

Robert’s young life, filled with unfathomable abuse, hatred and corruption was the springboard to him seeking a sense of belonging on the streets. One thing led to another and before he was even a teenager, he found himself entrenched in a life filled with misery and violence. Each day Roberts struggled to survive. He was bumped in and out of foster homes and he became dependent on street drugs and self-preservation landed him behind bars on more than one occasion.

The summer of 2009 was a turning point for Roberts. He was brutalized by his own gang members and left for dead. Even hospitals were reluctant to admit the six foot, three hundred pound mobster for any length of time for fear of gang retaliation. Alone in the world, Roberts signed himself into a seedy motel and faced his demons. With broken bones, a broken heart and a crushed spirit, he finally realized the void in his life. He cried out, begging for even ‘one inch of love.’ It was then that a transformation took place. Roberts had never before professed such a strong faith. Even he was taken aback by what transpired next.

Now ‘The Bull’ dedicates his life to helping vulnerable youth in a street ministry in downtown Toronto. His desire to save them from the clutches of evil that once distorted his own life spurs him into action and now his compassion for others is demonstrated by a fiery desire to also speak about his journey with others and to minister to the downtrodden and marginalized whichever way he can.

Tender Heart Ministries was developed out of Michael’s work with youth and people in need in the greater Toronto area and beyond. Roberts is in the process of acquiring charitable status and sees that happening as of this December.

“There are no borders and districts when it comes to our responsibility to those in need,” says Roberts as he contemplates the purpose of Tender Heart.

“At present I provide youth mentorship, peer mediation; I discuss and work with youth on issues of physical and sexual violence. I deal with them out of my own life experience.”

During the average month Roberts gets from 4,000 to 7,000 emails from youth all over the world

“People just want to talk to somebody who understands,” says Roberts, “so aside from hitting the streets and hanging in coffee shops or caring for the homeless, a great deal of my time is spent in social media, where I have been able to share my life with a vast number of people.”

September 21, 2012