“A person of his position and stature to come here and talk to the community in North Lawndale, that’s going to help us in terms of corporations to see, ‘Hey, we had this person come out to the community. He wasn’t shot. He didn’t get mugged, contrary to what you might believe. He’s here interested and supportive of this program,’ ” Bocanegra said. “For him to hear the story of our participants adds not only credibility with the young people we’re working with, but I also think it’s a good exchange. Now he knows. He can never say he doesn’t know about this community or these people who are affected by these issues.”