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With life back on track, Richard Bennett dives in to life's work with benefit golf tournament

Chattanooga Times Free Press - 4/24/2017

April 24--"God has called me to do this. I have no choice but to do it." Richard Bennett of A Better Tomorrow

Maybe for most of the golfers playing in a fundraising tournament this afternoon at Bear Trace, the event will be a good way to get in 18 holes with the bonus of helping at-risk youth.

For Richard Bennett, it's a bit more personal.

This is the second fundraiser he's held since he faced drug charges and unsubstantiated rumors of a rendezvous with a woman other than his wife, a life-altering moment that nearly stripped him of his family and finances. All charges against him were dropped, but the local minister never stopped declaring his innocence, loyalty to his family and commitment to helping at-risk youth stay off the street.

Bennett is hosting A Better Tomorrow golf tournament today in hopes of raising at least $20,000 for his 25 to Life initiative to help men getting out of prison break the cycle of returning.

The tournament is one of many ways he has been rebuilding his nonprofit since June 2015 when Judge Barry Steelman acquitted him of possession of marijuana charges even before his trial ended. Two previous charges of possession of a controlled substance and violation of open-container laws had already been dropped.

The accusations against him ruined his reputation, Bennett said, and cost him a $300,000 contract with the city to implement community outreach for the city's Violence Reduction Initiative, a strategy begun in 2013 to decrease violence in the city through the combined efforts of law enforcement, outreach organizations, churches, the judicial system and elected officials. The city later awarded the outreach contract to Hope for the Inner City.

"He's lost a lot even though he's not guilty," said Defense Attorney Bill Speek after the 2015 acquittal.

With hardly any funding, Bennett has continued to mentor students, teach life skills classes at Washington Alternative School and work with churches to support youth.

"God has called me to do this," he said. "I have no choice but to do it."

Bennett was arrested June 6, 2014, near a pond at East Lake Park. Police said he and a female acquaintance were found in a parked car with open containers of Budweiser and Patron tequila, hydrocodone pills and a plastic bag containing less than 2 grams of marijuana.

He was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and violation of open-container laws, all misdemeanors, according to news reports.

Now with all charges dropped, Bennett has stepped up his plans for helping at-risk youth and incarcerated men, and he's seeking funding.

Communication coordinator Marissa Bell said the city "looks forward to working with any company or organization, including A Better Tomorrow, that is awarded a bid through our established purchasing process."

Bennett vows that if A Better Tomorrow can raise $439,000 a year for three years from donors, private industry and other supporters, the public will see noticeable results, including a decrease in gang activities and less recidivism for program participants. And if they don't, he will end the program.

The money will pay for a clinical psychologist, three outreach workers and a data analyst, who will give weekly community reports of progress.

His long-term goals include a program that provides job training and houses former gang members outside of Chattanooga.

At a Better Tomorrow fundraiser in November, the first event since his acquittal, more than 50 business owners and elected officials came to the Kingdom Center on M.L. King Boulevard to support Bennett. Bennett called the event "25 to Life" to recognize the state of youths who either die before their 25th birthday or end up sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison.

The audience included state Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, former City Councilmen Larry Grohn and Yusuf Hakeem, and Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Beck.

So far, Bennett said, he's depended on dedicated helpers who work for little or no compensation. He keeps A Better Tomorrow running with some 300 youth at Washington Alternative School. He teaches there on Thursdays and Fridays and counsels youth on Wednesdays.

At his first fundraiser, Jacque Bennett, who spent 25 years in prison, thanked Richard Bennett for being willing to help men like him, who many people consider outcast. (The two men are not related.)

"It takes men like [Richard Bennett] to be able to step out in the community. Sometimes you got to get muddy and not worry about what somebody else is saying, because you're helping the drug dealer," Jacque Bennett said.

Thaddeus Twitty, who was also formerly incarcerated, spoke at the event.

"As I walked out of those prison gates, he was the first person I saw," Twitty said of Richard Bennett. "Out of everybody that is my so-called friend, he was the one there to pick me up, the one who accepted my phone calls, the one sending me money when I needed it. I think I got the right guidance in my life now."

Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.

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