Jeremy Vest, a 29-year-old parent volunteer at Weinland Park Elementary, started life out on the wrong track. He was a member of the Short North Posse, one of Columbus’s most dangerous gangs, for about two years.

When he realized he was headed down the wrong road, Vest got training on how to handle troubled kids, which he now does at Weinland Park, the same school he once attended.

“I don’t want to see young kids end up in the places I have been,” Vest said.

Vest gets to school early before the kids do and doesn’t leave until they are long gone. Vest and his wife are full-time parent volunteers with the school. He also works for Cool Cats Sites and Entertainment, a company that provides private parties for kids.

Vest is in charge of safety and school security for the elementary.

“I just want to make sure the kids are safe,” he said.

In 1996, after Vest had begun to turn his life around, his 2-year-old son was killed. Vest attacked the killer and ended up in prison until the year 2000.

After getting out of prison, Vest was even more concerned with the safety of chidren, and returned to volunteering at Weinland Park.

Vest has a lot to deal with on a daily basis in Weinland Park Elementary. Many of the kids come from troubled homes, and Vest often finds himself being a role model, someone they can look up to and just talk to. One thing Vest encourages in the children is basic respect toward others.

“Many of them want to be little thugs, but they need to leave that at home,” Vest said.

Vest said he can deal and relate to children in a unique way because of his past.

“There are a lot of wild kids, but hey, we have all been there,” he said.

When kids act up, Vest often takes them from the classroom to a room designed to give them a chance to calm down by doing homework or reading.

“We will personally walk kids home if needed,” Vest said.

Vest said the school’s new principal, Barbara Blake, has had a positive impact on the children so far.

“She is a role model for the kids. She takes a lot of time out of her own schedule if needed,” he said.

A banner that hangs in the school states “Big enough to walk away – stop the violence.” Vest said he lives by this banner on a daily basis, as he himself has learned to walk away and is now trying to teach the kids to do the same.