At a small law firm on Wieuca Road, David Lee Windecher calmly looks over the upcoming cases he will defend in court.
No one would expect that underneath Windecher’s red beard and impeccable appearance, there once existed a young gang member who had been arrested no less than 13 times before the age of 19.
Today, Windecher is a criminal lawyer in Atlanta and heads a non-profit organization dedicated to offering rehabilitation and job training programs to youth with criminal records.
The organization’s history, however, is practically his own. Its name, Rehabilitation Enables Dreams, even stands for his former gang nickname.
The son of Argentine immigrants living in Miami, Windecher was just 11 years old when he first arrested for stealing. At age 13, he witnessed his first murder. That moment marked the beginning of a life of drugs, gangs, violence and easy money on the streets of Miami over the course of the next seven years of his life.
Then everything changed.
At 23 years old, a worry that he was destroying the lives of his loved ones resulted in a panic attack. Since that moment, Windecher began a dramatic metamorphosis that led him to study law and eventually establish RED.
“I wanted to create the organization because I went through the criminal justice system as an adolescent and I thought that in the end I wasn’t a bad person. I had goals and abilities. And I thought that many others who went through the same thing that I did had the same problems. They just weren’t given certain opportunities,” explained Windecher.
From there, RED’s mission was born.
“I want to help rehabilitate the same individuals that I’m talking to you about, because the goal is to make them contributing members of society, because if you grow up in an environment where you don’t have access to resources that can help you be the best version of yourself, the chance of you giving up on yourself and possibly breaking the law goes up,” said Windecher.
For the past three years, RED has helped youth with criminal backgrounds to find rehabilitation and employment. Some of them, according to Windecher, are Hispanic.
“In the last three years, we’ve worked with several organizations and helped hundreds of youth. Now, in this past year, we’re working specifically with twenty youth in a program called ‘The Project Pinnacle’ in DeKalb County,” explained Windecher. “That way we’ll be better able to identify the opportunities we can offer them.”
Windecher added that among the types of assistance the organization offers is helping youth to create a professional resume, as well as assigning mentors and community work. Upon completion, this work is rewarded with different types of recreational activities.
Through it all, Windecher offers one piece of advice to parents and troubled youth going through the same situations he once lived: “If your children are going through a hard time and making mistakes, don’t give up on them. If you stay with them, I’m sure they will become the best versions of themselves,” assured Windecher.
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