Watch the story of this inspirational man below.
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Chris Brown, 38, has turned out to be an unlikely hero to poverty-stricken kids in Liverpool. That’s because Brown used to be a career criminal who was even locked up because of his attempt to supply 24 kilos of heroin into Merseyside.
After pleading guilty in April 2014, the dad-of-two from West Derby spent five-and-a-half years in jail. Prison time has changed Brown’s outlook in life and he vowed never to repeat his criminal past. While in prison, he got an NVQ in professional catering in the hopes of using his newfound skills to help those in need.
Brown set up Gourmet Social Enterprise after being released. His organization supplies hundreds of meals each day to children living in poverty in Liverpool. From being a menace who wanted to taint the city with drugs, Brown is now tackling “holiday hunger.”
He said: “A lot of people in prison say they’re going to change and they’re not going back to a life of crime, and then end up slowly drifting back into it when they get out.
“But I was determined, I said to myself the day I went in there that as soon as I got out I was never going to break the law again.
“In the last year of my sentence, I was at an open prison where I had five days of the month where I could go home.
“I had an epiphany and I decided I wanted to do something with a positive social impact and so whenever I got a chance, I would go home and started making 50 or 60 portions of Scouse and taking it into town to feed the homeless.
“The more I started to look into social issues, I learned about holiday hunger and I knew I had to do something.
“Now, I’m out the door for 6 am every day packing lunches for these children who are literally waiting at the door for this food.
“I don’t think I understood how bad it was until did this job, but it’s the most rewarding job in the world.
“If I can get across to people how I have changed my life and how I have got where I am today, then maybe it will help inspire others to do something meaningful.”
Once he got out of prison, he bought a run-down cafe in Bootle, Liverpool. He then contacted local schools so that a free dinner for children in need could be set up on Christmas Eve. People even donated hundreds of toys to be used as presents.
But none of the children showed up and Brown realized that he himself would need to deliver the food to them.
Brown said: “It was Christmas Eve and I was driving around Liverpool delivering all these meals and Christmas presents to children who were going hungry.
“It was the most rewarding and incredible experience and crazy to think that just a month before I had left prison behind.
“I knew there and then that this was my calling, this was what I needed to be doing.”
Gourmet Social Enterprise went on to serve children at six schools and even 50 private customers every day at bargain prices. This earns the business funds to fight hunger.
Even Liverpool’s mayor took notice and partnered with the ex-con’s fledgling business to feed deprived families during summer when pupils don’t have the benefit of free school dinners.
Brown is now working to provide roughly 13,500 healthy packed lunches for children who are participating in summer activities around the city.
Brown hopes that his story can inspire other criminals to turn a new leaf because it’s never too late to do so. He also says his girlfriend Hayley White, 34, was instrumental in helping him follow his dreams. His two sons Christian, 12, and Reuben, 10, also inspired him to start a new life.
He said: “I have a vision Liverpool could be the first city in the UK to eradicate holiday hunger.
“I don’t come from a deprived background myself, and I am ashamed of what I’ve done and what I’ve put my family through.
“But I’m not a sob story, my focus now is doing all I can to help these children.
“We want to do all we can to make sure that children don’t go hungry during the school holidays, by giving them at least one decent meal a day.”