GOODNESS OVER MALICE
SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. —Sai Yang still carries the marks of his past — gang tattoos on his torso, front and back.
But to him, they're reminders that he took the right path.
Yang is the center supervisor for Lighthouse Recovery in Sheboygan. It's the newer location to the Manitowoc center where the nonprofit is headquartered.
A TMJ4 viewer wrote in saying I had to meet with Yang, claiming he took what was nearly a "failed" center and "brought back the hope and light...to the community."
"The connection wasn't there with the people in Sheboygan, so it was a big challenge and it was going downhill," Yang noted. That's a big reason why he was brought on board this year — he had personal experience.
Yang, who's originally from Thailand, moved to San Diego as a boy. His 8th-grade year is when the family settled in Sheboygan, where Yang first experienced racism.
He quickly found a false sense of community with gangs. Those relationships put him on the wrong side of the law for nearly a decade — drug dealing, drug using, and violence.
"I was one of the first people to bring methamphetamine to my community, Sheboygan,” Yang reflected. “I was searching for love but in reality, I was getting in nothing but trouble.
Watch: Supervisor brings life back to Lighthouse Recovery Sheboygan
His first imprisonment was also his epiphany: he needed to change his life around or he wouldn't be around very long to enjoy it.
So, he got clean and re-enrolled in college, receiving top honors and awards for his student leadership.
When he thought his criminal past was behind him, he found himself in federal custody as part of a major gang and drug bust "Operation Setting Sky." His name was on the list of 50 suspects because of his previous affiliations.
Yang was locked up for nearly three years awaiting trial, let go early since it would be at least another two before the case would be heard in court.
He said the reunion with his family is something he’ll never forget.
“I was like, ‘Dad, it’s me.’ He broke down and cried at me, my mom almost fainted,” Yang remembered.
Yang’s first son was born just before he was due in court. He named him “Skyler” after the trial that held his fate, a way to always remember that he chose goodness over malice.
The judge ruled Yang would only have to be on probation for three years, given his previous time spent locked up and for turning his life around.
Yang went on to have two more boys, Weston and Princeton and followed a successful career as an academic advisor at colleges in Wisconsin. But those jobs didn’t satisfy his need to do something greater.
ALL FAITH AND LOVE
Now, on the same streets where he used to deal drugs, Yang’s helping others see the light in the sea of addiction.
"I watched Sheboygan go down with drug addictions and people overdosing, and kids being parentless,” he said. “I saw all the evil that was left behind from the carnage of my past.”
Although he’s not proud of his wrongdoings, it’s given Yang a leg up in running Lighthouse because he knows exactly where the problem areas are around town. But more than anything, he can relate to the people he’s trying to help.
“Being on both sides of the coin, knowing what it’s like to struggle with addiction and go through it” is what Lighthouse Volunteer Mike Klemme says makes Yang a valuable leader.
Klemme has struggled with substance abuse for almost 30 years and said Lighthouse is the first program he’s believed in because it inspired him to do better.
"We start out like this,” he said pointing to the greenery he painted on a coffee mug. “And we become more involved in the community and with the recovery process, we grow and we spread more branches."
The art program at Lighthouse is one of the many resources Yang has advocated and fundraised for. Crystal Marshall heads the art department and was recently promoted to a recovery coach.
"My very first art class…we started at five. The last art class had 22 people,” she noted proudly. “Sai has implemented more programs. We have a grief group now and a lot of other things we didn’t have before.”
Marshall’s entire childhood was darkened by addiction. Her biological and adoptive parents struggled with substance abuse, one person from each couple has died because of it.
“I know how hard it is for people in recovery to make those healthy decisions and friendships,” she said, adding that art is one outlet a lot of people find helpful in their journey to sobriety.
Volunteer and recovering addict Jimmy Basler has donated his fair share of time to the arts program too, teaching clients how to make dream catchers.
“I owe my life to the Lighthouse. I’d drive 100 miles an hour just to get [here] and when I walk in, I can breathe,” Basler said. “Sai is like all faith and love. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably still be on that downward spiral."
Yang took a significant pay cut when accepting his Lighthouse position, but said “It’s not even about the money. I don’t care if I’m poor now. I’m rich in everything else in life.”
Yang said he’ll continue to offer his service — to the city, he, at one time, never thought twice about — as an example to his youngest son, Princeton, who he calls his lighthouse.
"I found my calling,” he smiled. “You can make it out and you can achieve higher than I ever achieved. You still have that chance. Believe in me because I was one of you."
