Meringoff Family Foundation

Teenagers in trouble with the law are being given a chance to turn their lives around, thanks to a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of court-involved youth.

“I was going through not the best time in my life,” Sunset Park, Brooklyn resident Rafael Soto told CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis on Wednesday.

About two years ago, Soto was on the wrong path, incarcerated and at a crossroads.

“I had two choices, was either keep messing up or try to do something different. So when I got referred to Exalt I, of course, took the chance,” Soto said.

It’s a chance that he said changed his life.

Exalt is a nonprofit that so many other court-involved New York City teens have been referred to by judges, district attorneys, and even schools.