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OC probation officer hits 50 states as Spider-Man, other superheroes for sick kids, homeless adults

April 3, 2023

When Yuri Williams was 8 years old, his mother sometimes took him with her to work at the Los Angeles County’s Central Juvenile Hall when she couldn’t find a sitter. Lynda C. Hubbard worked there, with troubled children and young adults as a juvenile correctional officer, for more than three decades.

“There was this one big guy banging on the walls in his room,” Williams recalled, who is now 46 and lives in Signal Hill. “My mom walked in and asked him what was going on and he just started crying and she was holding this much bigger person in her arms.”

Williams ended up following in his mother’s footsteps, becoming a deputy juvenile correctional officer for the Orange County Probation Department. Over the years, he sought guidance from his mother, who told him how to speak with those in custody, how to help the boys and girls.

When Hubbard died from cancer in 2009, Williams fell into a deep depression for five years.

“One day I was just sitting there and tried calling her phone and just started crying,” Williams said.

But his mom’s lessons inspired him.

Yuri Williams visits people in hospitals to cheer them up. (Courtesy of Yuri Williams)

In 2017, Williams began donning the costumes of superheroes and other iconic figures to raise the spirits of others who are fighting their own battles. A year later, he launched his nonprofit, A Future Superhero and Friends, to try and cover the costs of such things as donations and his travel. If he lassos big donors, he wants to create an after-school program of some sort.

“My mom always told me when you do something, try to do it different from others,” Williams said. “I figured by wearing a costume it could be a distraction, because it was rare that people see others in costume coming out to help.”

His started off locally, visiting families and children’s hospitals in Southern California, dressed as characters such as Spider-Man, Deadpool and the Mandalorian.

In February, Williams rolled in three large bins of plush toys — Santa Clauses, unicorns and others — through the doors of the Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village in the Long Beach Medical Center. Because of the coronavirus, he was in street clothes — not able to visit the children in costume as in previous years.

“Yuri has been amazing,” said Rita Goshert, director of the center’s Child Life Program. “He’s been partnering and collaborating with us for several years. He just surprises us with these donations and it just makes all the difference in the world.

“It brightens their day, makes them forget they’re in the hospital and keeps their minds busy,” she said.

Williams expected the smiles and joy from the children. What surprised him was the parents’ reactions.

“Some of these parents haven’t seen their kids smile in awhile, or they haven’t been able to provide the gifts they’d like to for their kids,” Williams said. “Sometimes, they need this just as much as their kids.”

Yuri Williams is a a deputy juvenile correctional officer for the Orange County Probation Department. Here, he stands outside Orange County Juvenile Hall in Orange on Friday, March 31, 2023. Williams dresses as up superheroes and visits sick children in hospitals. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Four years and counting, Williams has made a tradition of traveling across all 50 states in 20 days over the holiday season, using his vacation days from work, visiting the homes of ill children to bring cheer via their favorite characters and to provide gifts like new gaming systems and baby Yoda dolls.

Williams also visits homeless veterans in Los Angeles and Orange counties, providing hygiene kits, clothing, food, gift cards. He organizes art classes meant to help them cope with their struggles. And, he listens.

“The thing about me, I don’t assume or judge people, so I try to build a relationship with them first and then keep coming back … so I can gain their trust,” he said. “Once I gain your trust, I’m able to help you with your problems and get you the services that you need.”

Adults get the costume treatment, too.

“When I visited the houseless community it just made them smile,” Williams said. “One time I went out without the costume and they told me to go back home and get it. They never called me by my first name — it has always been ‘Spider-Man.’

“It brings you back to your childhood, and when I saw that smile I knew I could get to their heart and try to get them the help they need,” he said.

In October, Williams appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised him, joining him on the set. Inspired by Williams’ efforts, the actor gave him a costume of Black Adam, who Johnson portrayed in a film of that name. Johnson also rented out a Regal Edwards theater in the Long Beach Towne Center so ill children, homeless people and others who are struggling could see the film.

In January, the Orange County Board of Supervisors recognized his charity by presenting him with a plaque.

Out of the menagerie of costumes he has acquired over the years, Williams said Spider-Man has remained his favorite. It prompts a memory — he recalls an action figure he picked up while at work with his mother years ago.

Maintaining his charity work has not been easy, with most of the money spent on gifts, storage and travel coming out of his own pocket, he said, leading him to doubt how long he can continue his nonprofit work. His travels have also taken a toll on Williams, spending weeks at a time away from his 14-year-old daughter, Jaedyn.

Yuri Williams and his daughter, Jaedyn. (Courtesy of Yuri Williams)

Despite that, Jaedyn has been a constant supporter of her father’s efforts, he said. Years ago, Jaedyn passed a homeless man on the street and offered him the money in her pocket.

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“She told me that that could be her someday,” Williams said.

“I told her that you always give back. … Blink of an eye, an earthquake happens, destroys your home and you could possibly become homeless.