Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2401

Tonight's special guest is Lang Martinez from Oxnard, California, a survivor of sexual abuse as a 17 year old boy and a recovering addict who has lived a life of trauma with deep socio-emotional experiences. Now he's a 55 year old homeless advocate in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles. Lang has struggled in his life with homelessness and incarceration, trying to seek meaning while hampered by a dysfunctional upbringing. Today, Lang is clean and sober. His homelessness ended when he made a personal commitment to seek a relationship with God and a promise to atone for his past transgressions and it is also where Lang’s life becomes interesting. In the Spring of 2019, Lang started appearing publicly, speaking during Oxnard City Council meetings and making it known to City officials that he wanted to help the homeless of Oxnard. As an advocate for homelessness, Lang has built a reputation for not being satisfied and that more resources to address addiction and mental health sit at the core of homeless solutions. In fact, Lang has tried to understand the bureaucracy associated with government funding and programs to serve the homeless but does not have the patience to wait when he sees people suffering on the streets. Lang is currently in the process of writing his autobiography “Nobody Knows But Me”, which accounts for his life on the streets and being incarcerated, which was induced by being raped as a teenager. He is on a journey to not only recover a life lost to addiction and crime, but he is also on a spiritual quest to restore his identity through his advocacy and his personal dignity through true love and respect for his fellow man.