Sorng Heng (pronounced “Song”) immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of four.  Sorng endured a tough beginning, spending those first four years living in refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines as his family sought to escape the genocide and persecution of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. 

When Sorng’s family arrived in California in 1984, they were optimistic that the American Dream was within reach.  However, those dreams took a serious detour in 1989 when an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale devastated their home.  Homeless and with no place to go, Sorng and his family came to Rhode Island to move in with family.  But once in Rhode Island, Sorng found other disasters looming.

Sorng’s family settled in Providence and soon found that their neighborhood was a hot spot for gang activity.  Very quickly, Sorng and his older brother found themselves fearing for their lives.  Sorng found himself beginning a downward spiral of destructive behavior as early as elementary school.  His brother, meanwhile, ended up being expelled from middle school for the gun he began to carry for protection.  With his brother and protector incarcerated – Sorng, at the age of 13, felt as though he had no option but to sell drugs in order to buy guns for himself.

Over the next decade, Sorng became engulfed in the cycle of drugs, violence, and jail.  During this time, his gang affiliation remained strong – a safety mechanism that helped him stay alive.  In the meantime, he continued to sell drugs and was expelled from many high schools.  Sorng knew that this destructive path could only lead to death or long-term incarceration, but strangely, he felt powerless to change his fate.

At 22, Sorng was lying in the middle of a city street, waiting to die.  He was bleeding from three critical gunshot wounds – two in the back and one in the leg.  The bullets narrowly missed his spine. Lucky to be alive, Sorng knew that his life had to change, before he didn’t have one.  

He began working for a roofing company, but found the earnings limited.  To supplement his income and support his family, Sorng began to sell and use drugs once again as he continued to work roofing.  The drug and alcohol use was slowly dragging him down.  He was arrested once again

Upon his release from prison, Sorng discovered YouthBuild Providence, an alternative education and job-training program.  YouthBuild Providence took a holistic approach to helping Sorng move away from destructive behaviors and create new ones.  During the 10-month program, he earned his GED and helped construct a brand new home for a low-income family.  Sorng learned the job skills he needed for a solid career in construction while expanding his social consciousness of supporting his neighborhood.  The staff at YouthBuild Providence helped him stop using drugs and break the pattern of violence that had been so much a part of this life.  Upon graduating for the 10-month curriculum in 2004, Sorng possessed a great deal of knowledge about construction, so much that he scored a 97 % on his entrance exam to the Carpenters Union, local 94.

Sorng attributes his success in YouthBuild Providence to the nourishment and support he received of the program staff, a committed group of teachers and counselors who understood the social pressures urban youth must endure on a day-to-day basis.  “They never stopped encouraging me, telling me that I could achieve anything I wanted.” Sorng said during his graduation ceremony.  “After a while, I began to believe them and believe in myself.”

Sorng could have moved directly from YouthBuild into a lucrative job as a union carpenter.  However he decided to delay his entry into the Carpenter’s Union by one year so he serve as the YouthBuild Providence Construction Trainer for one year and help guide others to a positive place in life.  He is the first YouthBuild graduate to be hired as a staff person in our eight-year history.