HE HAS plenty of critics but looking back over the past 20 years, Ken Marslew said he had no regrets.
Mr Marslew founded Enough is Enough Anti-Violence Movement after his son Michael was murdered in 1994 during a bungled robbery.
Mr Marslew swore he would do something about the senseless death of his son, despite his immediate response being revenge.
"I was hell-bent on getting even. I still feel that way today, it doesn't go away," he said.
"Nothing I do to the people who murdered Michael will bring him back."
Instead, he decided to help people like himself — victims of crime navigating an often hostile and confusing legal system.
Until that moment his only time in court had been as a witness to a car theft.
It was due in part to his lobbying that victim impact statements were introduced, which he said was "a huge win".
"Judges said, 'you'll never get it through.' "
The battle for funding has been ongoing: he has received it, lost it, had it cut, had it reinstated and cut again but is adamant that investing in troubled youth is money well spent.
There have been critics — those who question how he can work with victims and offenders, and those who howled in protest when he offered one of his son's murderers a role at Enough is Enough.
He is happy about what he has achieved but remains devastated at the price he paid.
"I have loved everything I have done but the price I had to pay to go on this journey was too great," he said.
"I would rather have Michael back."
