ABOUT Café Momentum
Café Momentum, founded in Dallas, Texas, is an award-winning restaurant and culinary training facility for justice-involved youth, ages 15-19. Through the Momentum model, we aim to transform young lives by equipping our youth with life skills, education and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential.
Every young person we serve (100%) has experienced involvement with the justice system. Research shows:
Justice system contact during adolescence can result in 3x the likelihood of future arrests.
Deeper involvement leads to lower school completion, economic hardship and higher rates of reoffending.
Youth of color are disproportionately impacted: Black youth are 5x more likely, and Latino youth are nearly 2x more likely to enter the justice system than their white peers.
In 2023, 86%* of Café Momentum interns were youth of color. Our approach focuses on the key factors proven to decrease justice system involvement: meaningful work experience, access to education, social-emotional well-being and career stability.
IMPROVED SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING through wraparound services and 70% of interns voluntarily engaging in therapy.
INCREASED SENSE OF AGENCY as interns gain confidence from training and achieving goals like earning their ServSafe® food handler certification.
INCREASED EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT with 100% of interns re-enrolling in accredited programs.
INCREASED JOB STABILITY as 80% of alumni earn at least $14 to $20 per hour in stable jobs. 90% of alumni had active bank accounts, a critical step toward financial independence.
DECREASED JUSTICE SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT as graduates break free from cycles of incarceration.
The Café Momentum Flagship is poised to become a national destination for learning and innovation in youth development and justice reform. By investing in this project, we are not only transforming the lives of young people in Dallas but also paving the way for a paradigm shift in how we approach youth empowerment and justice reform nationwide.