Chelsea Gray gives an assist off the court

The Sparks star is giving back to youth in Los Angeles.

As a basketball player, Chelsea Gray is first and foremost a passer, looking to set up others for the score. Her role is clear.

Off the court, the Sparks point guard has had a longer journey to figure out what her purpose is. But after a chance encounter while roaming around one day in Venice, Gray found her second calling, a cause outside of basketball that resonates with her – helping homeless youth.

Gray now sits on the board of Safe Place For Youth, a group based in Venice, CA that works to address the growing epidemic of homeless youth in southern California. Safe Place for Youth is not only a physical space for youth to stay or eat a meal when they have nowhere else, it’s also a safe space for them to discuss their hopes and dreams for better lives.

“I think our youth is super important,” Gray said Tuesday. “It’s important for me to be that type of person that when young kids look at me, they see somebody that looks like them.”

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As part of her work to help the youth, Gray holds shoe drives to donate shoes to those without. Sometimes, people at Safe Place For Youth need a decent pair of shoes for a job interview, and that’s how Gray and her initiative can help. The Sparks star was unable to hold a drive this season, but plans to hold one next year with Adidas.

The Sparks organization started the Spark the True You campaign to support female veterans in the community in partnership with the Los Angeles Department of Military and Veteran Affairs and Los Angeles Department of Mental Health. That goal intersected with Gray’s passion for empowering homeless youth in an event Tuesday called Where the Heart Is that aimed to create conversation around the issues female homeless veterans face.

Gray isn’t personally connected with many veterans in her inner circle, but she expressed her respect for their service and was able to empathize with them as women.

“I think it’s amazing what they do, the grueling process, mentally and physically, the time spent away from their families,” Gray said. “Sometimes when women are gone, they miss their children take the first steps just to be able to fight for a country that sometimes doesn’t have the faith in you.”

As someone who has gone through significant injuries in her career – Gray estimated that she has had six surgeries on her knees – she was especially sympathetic to the challenge female veterans face in maintaining their bodies once they return home. The drastic change in routine and weight are situations that Gray can relate to on a different scale as an athlete who has had to rehab several times.

“It’s amazing being able to be where I am today because I didn’t know if i was going to be able to come back from the injuries that I did have. They were grueling, they were hard, it was a process. I was out of college without a job to go overseas or anything like that, and I got drafted, but I wasn’t on a team yet because I was hurt. So just going through that process, you learn a lot about yourself, the people that’s around you. I think the circle got a lot tighter at that point,” Gray said. “That’s kind of been my story of how I wasn’t supposed to be here because of that.”

Instead, Gray persevered. She has achieved significant success as a professional basketball player; a former WNBA champion, she was recently named to the 2019 all-WNBA first team, the first such honor of her career, and will be spending the offseason with USA Basketball in preparation for the 2020 Olympics.

With the basketball part under control, Gray’s work off the court is gradually taking on greater importance in her life. She has an opportunity to spend more time in the Los Angeles community without having to play overseas this year, and she has found a place where she can make an impact.

Gray spoke about about her nephews inspire her to be better in her life. Now, she is taking that to a new level by working to inspire youth throughout her city.

“I was walking around in Venice and Marina Del Rey, and I saw this place, and this lady was like, ‘Come on in,'” Gray said. “Ever since, I haven’t looked back.”

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