The Hoang's Cabramatta Redemption Story

At 13, Tony Hoang escaped the loneliness and domestic violence of his home life and joined one of the most notorious crime gangs in Cabramatta, finding himself jailed a year later. Tony continued to deal drugs when he was released. It seemed at the time that the gang gave him a sense of belonging and self-importance. At the age of 16, he faced the harsh reality of this lifestyle by losing a close friend to a drug overdose, and almost gunned down at 19 years old.
"Things just went from bad to worse, and, by the age of 21, I had six friends dead." But after he suffered a heroin overdose, he said he was ready to leave a life of gangs, drugs and jail behind.
So he returned to the church he had attended as a young child.
"I cried, a broken man. I said God, if you're somewhere out there, make yourself real to me. Please just give me a sign or something.
"The next day, I was walking through Cabramatta and Potters House Christian Church Fairfield were handing out leaflets, telling people about God and a man gave me a flyer, and the flyer read, 'if you're looking for a sign from God, here it is'."
That was 12 years ago. Now, he spends his time mentoring others who are experiencing a similar ordeal.