A violence prevention group hopes to deliver extra peace to a South Side neighborhood with with every bit of pizza offered at a brand new restaurant opening on the finish of the month.
Peace of Pizza, positioned at 1801 W. 95th St., will function a coaching floor for teenagers to develop expertise working in a restaurant. They can even be taught to be punctual and easy methods to maneuver in knowledgeable atmosphere.
“Eat a slice and save a life,” stated Tamar Manasseh, founding father of M.A.S.Ok. and the brand new restaurant, which is the enterprise arm of the non-profit Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings. “Just eating pizza with us can help reduce gun violence because we are getting the youth out of the streets and giving them valuable skills.”
The store-front restaurant can even serve wings, burgers, pasta, sandwiches and salads.
1 / 4 of all income can even return into M.A.S.Ok. to fund applications aimed toward combating meals insecurity, housing points and violence in Englewood. The nonprofit was based in 2015 by moms wanting to save lots of their kids from gun violence.
M.A.S.Ok.’s strategy to ending gun violence has garnered nationwide consideration in recent times because it occupies the nook of 75th Street and Stewart Avenue. The group engages the youth by counseling, cooking wholesome meals and discovering properties for many who don’t have them.
In May, Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) met with Tamara Manasseh, founding father of Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings, to speak about gun violence within the her group.Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
“We are really hoping this can be a future model for investing directly into our neighborhood since we often struggle to gain partnership with city government,” Manasseh stated. “This is an example of where the business community and the nonprofit community can work together.”
The purpose for Peace of Pizza will not be solely investing {dollars} into the group but additionally investing in folks, Manasseh stated.
Peace of Pizza will make use of three full-time workers and three teenagers in internship-like roles. The teenagers will work within the restaurant for 3 to 6 months growing the instruments wanted to make them marketable within the job market to assist them work in different eating places, Manasseh stated.
“I got all of these kids that say they want to leave the streets, but they can’t get a job because they have a [criminal] record,” Manasseh stated. “It breaks my heart when young people ask me to help find them a job and I can’t … but now I will be able to.”
Peace of Pizza’s grand opening be be held 5:30 p.m. July 31.
Manny Ramos is a corps member of Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that goals to bolster Sun-Times protection of Chicago’s South Side and West Side.