Founded by Pedro was born in Jersey City, NJ to teenage parents. After the death of his father he had to deal with his mother being addicted to drugs. His life took a turn for the worse. A life of crime steered by the need to survive was his youth experience. In and out detention center and county jail lead him deeper into a hopeless life. He then became a teen father and began to seek a better life, but felt there was no way out. It wasn’t till he had an encounter with God that his eyes were opened and his hope was restored. He went on to marry Gedy, the woman who invited him to a church service and through difficult challenges they learned to overcome and pursue their calling. They later moved to Florida where they got connected to juvenile justice ministry and their passion, life experience, and leadership lead them to launch Urban Youth Justice in 2019. UYJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves youth involved in the juvenile justice system throughout the Central Region of Florida.