Olgen Williams traces his dramatic journey from embittered, drug-using Vietnam veteran to
nationally acclaimed neighborhood activist and deputy mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. His sudden
miraculous orientation from drugs and despair to faith and freedom will inspire all those
concerned with the social and personal costs and consequences of illegal drugs and
drug-related crime. In December 2002, for his crime of having stolen less than eleven dollars
while serving as a postal worker in 1971, Olgen Williams received one of seven pardons
granted by President George W. Bush. Today, Olgen Williams is firmly grounded in family,
faith, and neighborhood in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he served for thirteen years as director
of Christamore House, a community center in the settlement house tradition. He has
pioneered and nurtured many programs-ranging from carpentry to theater, from community
policing to parenting and seniors programming-that serve the diverse needs of a multiethnic inner-city neighborhood. His book is not only the story of an extraordinary life-in-progress but also
a working handbook for neighborhood activism and transformation.
