In Georgia each year, 52,000 young people, about one-tenth of Atlanta’s entire population, are put in jail or are on probation. That is a lot of potential left behind bars.
I know this because I was involved with the system.
My troubles started in middle school. Like many boys, I wanted to play football in the NFL. I contributed to my team and got good grades, but my home life was hard. My mom and dad were both there, but mom was sick and couldn’t work, and dad lost his job. Pretty soon, we were evicted. I was stressed and, I’ll admit, angry. One day, I got into it with my coach. He cut me from the team.
For someone with big football dreams, this hurt. Losing what you love can cause you to spiral, and that’s what happened. I stopped caring about school and started getting into fights. Eventually, I was sent to an alternative school, where things got really bad. I was exposed to a lot of terrible stuff, including kids stealing cars and selling drugs.
I followed them. I’m not proud of it, but I followed them — right into the juvenile justice system. I was 13 years old, and even though I was really young, the system didn’t do much to try to set me straight.
After a few years, I’d had enough. My dad had always wanted to be a chef, and I loved to cook, too. I wanted a new dream. I thought maybe I could be a good businessperson.
I believed I could positively contribute to this community, but I also knew I’d need help to get back on the right path.
I’m lucky I found mentors at Café Momentum who did. Café Momentum started in Dallas, operates in Pittsburgh, too, and will open a restaurant in Atlanta by the end of this year. 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. 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, and, most important, to be a good man who provides for my family and contributes to this city. Through a youth entrepreneurship mentorship program at Glaciers Italian Ice, which partners with Café Momentum, I’ve also learned hard work, humility, honesty and hospitality — along with how to budget and manage my time.
As an intern in Café Momentum’s yearlong restaurant training program, I will have a stable income and earn more as I complete various program steps. At the end, I’ll earn a Café Momentum chef’s coat. I can almost feel that coat on my shoulders. It’s going to feel as good as slipping on a football jersey.
Someday, I hope to own a restaurant in Atlanta or become a chef on a yacht so I can travel the world. Right now, though, I’m just looking forward to graduating from Café Momentum and working with them to find a permanent job.
My message to the leaders of this city is that if you support young people who are stuck in the justice system or who are struggling with housing instability or mental health challenges, it will make a big difference. If more small business owners like those at Glaciers Italian Ice and Café Momentum were showing us the good we’re capable of, it would be easier to leave the bad behind.
By contributing to this community, I also want to be someone who can counter the bad examples I saw in school and in my neighborhood. 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. 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.
Reggie Elliot is an intern at Café Momentum Atlanta and a participant in the Glaciers Italian Ice Noble Truth Project.
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