Republished with permission from Statehouse Report  |  Chef Jeff Henderson broke out of the cycle of poverty and drugs, but first, he had to serve more than nine years in a federal prison in California.

Henderson, a nationally-known chef with television shows and books on his resume, will tour the Palmetto State this week in programs coordinated by Columbia’s EdVenture Children’s Museum.  On Thursday in stops in Allendale and Barnwell counties, he’ll challenge disadvantaged youths to aspire to and live the American dream, not get sucked into generational poverty that too often traps people in a downward spiral.

“The one word that I always use when I’m speaking to men in prison who have life [sentences] who will never get out is ‘hope’,” the 52-year-old ex-con said.  “The word I use to folks who come from generational poverty is ‘hope.’

“We always have to cling to hope that there is always going to be a better day.” Read more →