Kids All Need One Foundation

K.A.N.O
Kids All Need One
Mission Statement:
An organization formed to address the needs of at risk youth in the community by providing mentoring, leadership & critical thinking skills to survive in today’s hostile environment of gang affiliation, substance abuse and other risky behaviors.
This organization was formed by Kano Yusef Brown, who was born in Albuquerque, and shaped by the harsh street life in Oakland, California, during 8 critical years of development from the age 7-14. After returning to Albuquerque and living in the home of his grandparents, and under the care of his father attended and excelled in school and athletics. At Albuquerque High School Kano became a stand out football player and earned a scholarship to play football at the University of New Mexico in 1989.
While playing football in high school he was under tremendous peer pressure to be a part of a gang. Consequently he was instrumental in the formation of the gang which is now known as the Kirk Town PIRU’s. He only attended UNM for two semesters due to the difficulty of juggling these two dramatically different lifestyles. Kano was unable to reconcile the opposing demands of the street life and college life, and eventually dropped out of UNM, and became a fulltime gang member. The gang lifestyle included the daily use of drugs and alcohol and led to his addiction and incarceration in the penitentiary.
Kano now sees that the gangs and the gang lifestyle is detrimental to one’s self worth, and reinforces the mentality that life has no value. Kano endured the losses of numerous friends and relatives, at times 1-2 per year, including his childhood friend “Kenny Boo” Kenneth Douglas Jr. in 2003 and in 2004 Kano’s baby brother Lorenzo Brown, Jr. “Lo Baby” was also killed as result of gang violence.
On 4/7/13 Kano’s cousin Jabar Lewis was shot & killed inside of an Albuquerque nightclub, as a result Kano had enough of the senseless tragedy of repeated deaths caused by gang violence. He made a conscious decision to get involved and become an active force in the community to curb the violence and the death and destruction from gang violence. This organization provides an importance means for Kano to use his skills and experience to connect with today’s youth to escape the lure and dangers of the street life.