In January 2008, actress Chase Masterson (Star Trek: DS9, The Flash, ER) began mentoring young men and women coming out of gangs at Homeboy Industries, the largest program for gang intervention and at-risk youth in the world. With an “in-the-trenches” mentoring approach, Chase has closely mentored Crips, Bloods, and other members of the world’s notorious gangs, dealing with issues of the most dangerous kinds of oppression.
“I came to see that even the most notorious criminals’ stories are often rooted in childhood bullying; often, these kids’ stories go back to having been bullied on the playground. As they grew, their defense mechanisms and ability for aggression also grew, and both crimes and consequences turn devastating for all involved. But with compassion, a safe environment, and skills training, hope and transformation happens with even the most hardened of offenders.”
With a mission to bring both transformation for offenders and healing for victims, Chase has gotten Homeboy’s young men and women into substance abuse treatment, college, job training, jobs, counseling, parenting classes and more.
In 2013, Chase founded Pop Culture Anti-Bullying Coalition with award- winning author Carrie Goldman, bringing together pop culture-fluent psychologists and educators to create mental health and social emotional learning programs for schools. The Coalition also brings mental health resources to pop culture conventions and is working to change societal norms and policies regarding bullying.
In 2019, Chase produced SuperKids!, the first interactive mental health comic book. Conceived and written by Dr. Janina Scarlet, SuperKids! helps children with cancer and other serious illness through loneliness, anxiety, depression, and fear.
Chase has spoken about the Coalition’s work at Google Headquarters, the United Nations, UNESCO, World Anti-Bullying Forum, International Bullying Prevention Association, TEDxVienna, and at pop culture conventions worldwide.