The Queensbridge Houses -- the largest public housing complex in the country -- is celebrating more than a year without gun violence. Some of that success is thanks to volunteers at one local community center. NY1's Leisha Majtan introduces us to our latest Queens Person of the Week.

Daymond Dollison says he won't let his past define him.

"I did 13 years in prison for robbery. I was young, I wasn't a bad person, I just made a bad decision," said Daymond Dollison, NY1's Queens Person of the Week.

But he says it's because of that experience he's able to help young people stay on the right path.

Dollison was born and raised in the Queensbridge Houses -- the largest public housing complex in the country.

Now he's a volunteer with "696 Build Queensbridge," named for the six blocks and 96 buildings that make up the complex.

It's a community-based organization that aims to stop violence in its tracks.

"I think to cure the people is to know the people. So we actually get out there and if we hear something that's going on, we try to diffuse it before it starts," said Dollison.

Dollison organizes events, works with the tenants association, and runs a youth basketball league.

The program director of "696 Build Queensbridge" says having someone like Dollison on the team is what makes the neighborhood a better place.

"It's a tremendous resource and advantage to have someone -- who is formerly incarcerated, who has seen both sides of the tracks so to speak -- and now is out here with us working towards making sure the community is safe," said K. Bain, the Program Director for "696 Build Queensbridge."

"696 Build Queensbridge" does this in many ways.

The organization offers job readiness programs, self-defense classes, and keeps young people busy after school with free boxing lessons.

Dollison says it's only when everyone comes together that positive change can happen. 

"We're like a family. The members of 696, they went through their own trials and tribulations so to see them all grow and blossom, we all doing it together, I think that's a beautiful thing," said Dollison.

And so, for doing his part in making Queensbridge a safer place to live, Daymond Dollison is our Queens Person of the Week.