Bobby Wilson Uses Roller Pigeons To Keep Kids Off The Street

Bobby Wilson was released from prison in 2007, after five years of incarceration. A former gang member in Los Angeles (known as Kill Kill), Wilson decided to use one of his oldest hobbies to turn kids and teenagers away from heading down the same path. The hobby? Pigeons.

Since he was nine years old, Bobby Wilson was a roller pigeon enthusiast. The pigeons roll through the air, especially when he throws them up in the air with a quick snap. Wilson has been teaching younger people how to take care of pigeons -- he even provides them with cages and lessons. As CBS News reports, it's not just the pigeons that are keeping these children engaged, but the attention of an older person who's "been there."

From CBS News:

"Once you get in with these pigeons, feeding, watering and seeing to them, it's going to be too late to get into some trouble," Wilson said.

It just may be the most unconventional gang-prevention program in the country. Using donations and the some of the money he makes from selling his pigeon magazine, Wilson provides kids with the food, the pens, even the birds.

Read Wilson's Roller Pigeon magazine here.