Ex-drug addict turned little league coach inspires kids

Jun 21, 2009

The Compton neighborhood in Los Angeles is known as a tough one. One man there is using an abandoned baseball diamond to make a difference to the local youth.

Tim Lewis used to play Little League baseball on the corner of Compton and El Segundo 40 years ago. In the following years, Lewis became a drug addict and realized kids were following his example.

“It’s just creating the same problem over and over again,” Lewis said. “There’s no change.”

Lewis decided to restore the long-forgotten park in an effort to get his life, and his neighborhood, back on track. Lewis believes that kids join gangs because they want to be part of a group.

Baseball can help fill that void.

“Everybody needs to feel like that belong to something,” Lewis said. “Baseball is a good thing.”

What’s makes Lewis remarkable is that he also lives in his car. He’s been homeless for two years.

“I didn’t really want any kind of help from shelters cause I put myself in this position, and I can get myself, I believe I can pull myself up ya know?”

He says he’s clean now. Spends his nights watching Dodger games on a portable TV and reading the Bible — a faith he carries back to that park.