"When you're from the inner city, you see first-hand the effects that laws and convictions have on your community, how detrimental it can be for kids to lose their fathers for minor drug offenses that most people would get probation or something lesser for," said Sherman, who grew up in the southern Los Angeles County city of Compton. "Guys are getting five or 10 years of their lives taken from them because they don't have the money to fight the charges. It's unfortunate. Being here is my way of giving back and trying to make a difference because I've seen first-hand men being raised without a father and how negatively it can affect their lives."