Gloves Not Guns: Keeping Calgary youth in the ring and off the streets

There are many factors that can impact what path youth are sent down. Sometimes, it’s the wrong path.

But one boxing program in Calgary wants to be a factor that sends them down the right one.

TJ Sheehan founded and hosts a boxing mentorship program on Sundays called Gloves Not Guns at Olympus Boxing Club.

He uses boxing to keep at-risk youth out of gangs, violence and drugs by giving them a second chance at finding guidance, community and real world mentorship.

“We’re not just about boxing and teaching kids how to fight. We’re giving them that discipline and outlet to be able to walk away, use their words, control their emotions and be able to handle life’s tough situations,” Sheehan says.

Gloves Not Guns is a sanction for Calgary Youth Justice Society, and is one of 11 programs a judge can assign youth to avoid getting a criminal record.

“Boxing is just the catalyst. And for a lot of these youth, it’s the buy-in, because all they want to be a part of that violence, but now we’re actually reaching them how to channel it in a way that’s healthy,” Sheehan says.

Sheehan says the day begins with a speaker.

“Someone who’s overcome addiction, an ex-gang member who’s turned his life around, someone who’s done time in federal prison, to give these youth the understanding of what some of those choices could end up like, and also helping them understand choice and consequence,” Sheehan said.

After the speaker, he says they’ll do no contact boxing routines and other different workouts. The group then does 50 to 100 squats, and then they learn about life skills in the ring.

“That’s anywhere from how to talk to police, how to face your first charge or court appearance, what you guys are posting on social media.” he said.

Sheehan says there is “almost an epidemic” of youth posting themselves on social media with firearms.

“99 per cent of the times they’re airsoft firearms, but the police are charging as such because of the velocity that those guns are shooting.” he said. “They’re charging them and treating them as actual firearms, and the consequences are as such.”

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Sheehan and other volunteers also do a session on Wednesdays with youth and women who are imprisoned at the Calgary Youth Justice Centre.

When they get out, Sheehan says one of the first calls they make is to his team to ask about signing up for Sunday’s sessions, making a resumé and finding housing.

He says a lot of the kids are sent to open custody programs or halfway houses, and will do the program or one on one mentorship with them there.

Sheehan says no judgement is passed on youth who do commit crimes, but they have mentors and boxing coaches in place who are positive male role models that can help them through the process.

He says they help youth with how to speak to police, knowing their rights and showing up for their first court appearance and fingerprinting. They can also teach them how to get duty counsel, apply for legal aid, and other things.

“The guards at first were a little apprehensive of us teaching violence and teaching fighting inside of the prison system, until they actually got to see that it’s actually more about discipline, boxing, control,” he said.

“Some of the youth on the units have actually been self-policing themselves to not get in fights so that our program hasn’t been taken away or they can always participate in our program.”

However, Sheehan says the program has faced some challenges, especially regarding funding, and the program is currently at risk itself.

Sheehan says each Sunday session costs about $1000 for the space, equipment and food and drinks. They have applied for different grants, but don’t know if they will ultimately get them.

“If our funding is cut short tomorrow, our amazing volunteers will continue to have this program run for these kids, because they need it,” Sheehan said.

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The Calgary Homeless Foundation was able to help fund the program for a year through an Innovation Capacity Building and Enhancement (ICE) grant, and would like to see the program continue.

“It’s supporting youth not only while they are incarcerated, but also when they are transitioning out of that world and reintegrating back into normal life,” says Mereme Garunia, a system planner for the Calgary Homeless Foundation.

She says the youth involved develop ties with their trainers and mentors, who show them they don’t have to be entrenched in their current lifestyles and are less likely to be homeless as an adult.

Sheehan is confident the program will continue to run though, saying it helps himself as well as the youth.

“I’ve done so much negative and so much bad in my life, that this is my karmatic [sic] debt to repay. Every time I help one of these kids through a situation, it helps protect my sobriety, or my journey of redemption.”

Sheehan said he had a rough childhood himself, which escalated into his adult life.

“For myself, that was falling into that gang life. I wanted that brotherhood, I wanted that camaraderie, I want people that had my back when they said they were going to because I didn’t have that most of my life,” he said.

He says he has survived stabbings, drive by shootings, SWAT raids and many more.

“And I don’t think our youth are quite there, but we have some that are quite on the edge,” Sheehan says. “And if there was no intervention early on, they will definitely be down that road.”

“We’re teaching these kids that it doesn’t always have to be that negative lifestyle. You can find that same sense of purpose, belonging, and brotherhood in a safe community, where we’re all kind of striving for that common goal, to be better than we were yesterday,” he said.

“If I had this program, it would’ve given me a sense of who I am, and to be able to believe in myself that I don’t have to seek those outside validations,” Sheehan says. “And I think that’s something that we’re really trying to do here, is to accept anyone and give them that chance to be the best version of themselves.”

Current member testimonial

For those in the program, or who have already been through it, having a chance to share their stories is a chance to reflect on the changes they’ve made.

One participant had a football scholarship for an American prep school, and a chance to leave his rough neighbourhood behind. But one bad decision, one moment, put that in jeopardy.

Even though he wants to share his story publicly, Canada’s laws prevent CityNews from identifying the teen without a court order since they face criminal charges.

He was caught with a CO2 gun at school, and was made to work through the program to get his life back on track. He now returns every Sunday willingly, and is working towards getting registered with Alberta Boxing.

“My buddy was getting booked for it, and then as soon as he was on the verge of getting charged, he snitched on me, and then that’s how I ended up with this,” the participant said.

He said he took a guilty plea, which means there’s a chance that he can’t play football, especially since his scholarship is in America. 

“It’s affected me a lot, but I try not to let it keep me down…. I try not to let it hurt me too much,” he said.

The participant said that he initially didn’t pay much attention to the speakers or lessons, just doing his own thing since he’s had prior Muay Thai experience. But the sense of community there turned him around on it.

“Having TJ and Kale (Kale Barr is the program’s facilitator) to talk to and help me through a lot of things like the letters they’re writing me for my charges and stuff like that are helping me out. They’re teaching me how to get out of that lifestyle, it’s helped a lot,” he said.

He says he would probably still be selling on the streets and doing bad stuff with his gang buddies if it weren’t for the program, either that or in juvie for possession or more weapons charges.

“During this program I’ve learned to not only respect others in a different way but also respect myself better,” the participant said.

He said that he’s had friends and family pass away because of that – one friend dying right in front of him – which is what he thinks set him straight.

He says that other youth who might find themselves there should try the program out, because the program will teach them a lot about respect and community, and provide resources on how to get themselves out of it.

As for his football scholarship, that will depend on the conditions of his sentence, though he still wants to play football in America.

Success story from the program

Sajid is someone who has successfully gone through the Gloves Not Guns journey. Sajid was charged in connection with a plot to commit murder along with some other charges at just 16.

He spent two years behind bars, but has since turned his life around.

Now he is a university student, public speaker and is working towards launching his own business.

He was introduced to the people behind Gloves Not Guns at the Calgary Youth Justice Centre.

“I met TJ before Gloves not Guns even started, even before it was a real thing,” Tajid said. “I was constantly getting in fights, I was stealing peoples food, I was just a bully.”

Sajid says that Sheehan saw potential in him though, Sheehan having gone down the same path as Sajid.

Sajid said that before the program existed, Sheehan worked with youth in juvie. He said he’d teach them how to fight but only on the condition that they were patient, listened and were good on the unit, also bringing in a speaker to talk to them and sparring, much like what the program is today.

Sajid said that Sheehan teaches consistency, dedication and self control.

“I can’t even blame the kids that are getting in fights right now, but instead of teaching them to just go wildly swinging, he’s teaching them self control, he’s teaching them to be a better man, and that’s what boxing and I think martial arts just does for anybody,” Sajid said.

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Sajid says he didn’t take the program seriously at first, joining just to get out of his cell and let some anger out.

He thought that he would go straight back to selling drugs once he was done his time. Sajid never thought about what he could gain from the program, or that he would ever return on his own.

“But ever since I joined GNG, I met entrepreneurs, multi-millionaires, and through that I learned that I have a different path in life,” he said.

“I actually want to be an entrepreneur, and through that I’m actually launching my own business here in the summer,” Sajid said. “It’s called Dyed Canada, and what it does is it changes people’s leather seats. So I got funding, I got grants approved, stuff like that.”

Sajid got his diploma while in custody, and is now in his first year at university. Like his mentors, he wants to share his story with others.

“I kinda’ wanna’ be a speaker, speak to youth, because I’ve seen the effect that he had on me, so I wanna’ speak to youth, talk to them about how it’s not worth it, how this life is not worth it, and the trials and tribulations that this life comes with.”

“I was actually one of the first people of thousands of Albertan youth that got early release, and that was through Gloves Not Guns. Because I stayed consistent, I stayed true to myself, I excelled while I was in incarceration,” Sajid said.

In the end, Sheehan just wants a safe place for them to stay.

Sheehan says their long term goal is to get their own space where alongside the boxing gym, they can have a classroom and computers so youth can come in whenever they want to work on their resumés, apply for a job online, or even just do art or music.

“There would be a mentor here all the time and someone who can just be there for them when there’s no one else,” Sheehan said.