The gang violence that has erupted across Metro Vancouver in recent months has sparked a number of community efforts to stop the bloodshed.

Now a Vancouver high school student is doing his part to help stop children from following the same dangerous path that he did.

His words are disturbing, but Jonathan Wong recently shared his story with Waverly Elementary students in grades four to seven as part of a Vancouver Police Department anti-gang presentation.

His gang life began when he was even younger than the children he spoke to.

"I started at seven, by eight I was stabbing people because I was hanging out with people that were seven or eight years older than me,'' he said.

The presentation is graphic, and it details the murders of dozens of young men and women around Metro Vancouver in recent years. It provides information police believe is crucial for kids.

Det. Doug Spencer of the Vancouver Police Department youth squad says gang leaders make the life seem appealing in order to attract young recruits.

Excelled at rugby

"They don't tell you that there is a good likelihood that you are going to get murdered, be a drug addict, or go to jail before you are 30,'' said Spencer.

"You have to give the kids the tools, so when they go to high school, they recognize they are being recruited or used in a way that could lead to their death frankly,'' he said.

During the seven years that Jonathan lived a gang lifestyle, he saw loved ones pay a terrible price.

"I've had six friends murdered, including a cousin, when does it stop?'' he said.

The latest documentary from the Odd Squad, a Vancouver police documentary team, is called "Gangs and guns." In it, Jonathan talks about his cousin Kyle Richard Wong, who was gunned down two weeks before his 21st birthday.

"That night when I saw him bleeding to death, it hit way harder than when I saw a guy beside me get shot. It hit way harder."

Gangs and guns will be shown to high school students in the Surrey School District in the fall.

But although Jonathan's story had such a tragic beginning, his future looks much brighter. In recent years he has found several positive role models.

He excelled at rugby, and last year represented Canada in the under 17 team.

At Jonathan's grade 12 graduation last weekend, he was presented with a special award from the Vancouver Police Department youth squad.

"I'm looking forward to leaving high school, receiving that badge as well,'' he said.

But perhaps the biggest reward Jonathan can receive is the knowledge that these young children have been moved by his story.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Julia Foy