About 

My name is Shane Avery and I am enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte, SD. My mother Lola (Medina) Reynolds is a member of the Santee Sioux Tribe in Santee NE, where she currently resides. My dad, Allen Avery is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, in Eagle Butte SD who resides in Colfax, WA. I grew up on the Santee Sioux Indian Reservation, in Santee, NE and  the Yakima Indian Reservation in White Swan, WA.  I come from the reservation, so I know the struggles our youth go through first hand, I also know they have dreams, I know they want more out of life than the life they are living, and I believe that with the right opportunity and someone to guide them along the way, they can achieve those dreams. One of the biggest reasons why I want to share my story  is, I feel kids now-a-days need someone they can trust, someone that has been in their shoes, someone that can relate to their situation and someone they can count on. What we do at Kids Come First is, I tell them my story, I try and reach them through my experiences. I will explain to them that people make choices in life that lead them down the path they are on, but no where is it written that you can't change that path. I've made some terrible choices in my life and drugs was one of them. It took me down a road that lead me to 15 years in federal prison. Does that choice define me?  does it make me who I am now? of course not. But along the way I have learned some very valuable things that have made me who I am today.  I believe that helping kids is the path that has been chosen for me.  I look forward to this new chapter in my  life and what it has in store.