Reggie Elliott was a good kid in a difficult situation. He did well in school and was a dedicated athlete, but around the time his family was evicted, he began getting into trouble. Eventually, he was sent to juvenile detention.
As Reggie illustrates in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, those few, hard years are not the sum of who he is. With the help of Café Momentum, Reggie is now a budding chef and entrepreneur.
Skills training, a steady paycheck, and mental health support
“Café Momentum started in Dallas, operates in Pittsburgh, too, and will open a restaurant in Atlanta in January,” Reggie explains. “The program aims to transform the lives of kids like me through an internship program that combines culinary training with essential life skills, mental health support, education, and job opportunities.”
As an intern in Café Momentum’s yearlong restaurant training program, Reggie is paid a stable income and can climb the income ladder as he completes the program’s steps. When the internship is over, Reggie will earn a chef’s coat and Café Momentum will help him find a permanent job.
“I’m not going to be ‘QB One’ or a star running back, but, with Café Momentum, I’m learning how to communicate and how to manage and operate a business,” Reggie writes.
Lives change when we believe everyone can contribute
In Georgia each year, 52,000 young people are put in jail or are on probation. As Reggie did, many find themselves in the criminal justice system after childhood trauma.
Like Stand Together, Café Momentum Founder and Chief Executive Chad Houser believes these children have enormous potential. Instead of treating them as problems, we believe these young people can and will rise to whatever expectations are placed on them if given the tools, support, and love they need.
Since 2015, Café Momentum has served more than 1,200 young people. While studies show incarceration reduces the likelihood of high school graduation and leads to significantly reduced employment rates, Café Momentum interns are thriving. More than three-quarters are voluntarily receiving counseling, all of them have bank accounts that allow them to save and build credit, and 93% are continuing their learning.
Café Momentum’s success proves that when young people are believed in, supported, and empowered, they will thrive.
After he finishes his internship, Reggie hopes to give back to his hometown.
“My message to the youth of Atlanta is that even if you’ve been cut from the team, have a history of cutting class, or are in trouble with the law, your life isn’t decided,” Reggie writes. “Find someone who believes in you. If you can’t, know that I believe in you. Because I’ve done it. I’m going to fulfill the dream that started with my dad. I’m going to be a chef.”
Read Reggie’s full piece in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
