PITTSBURGH — A cafe for teenagers and police officers to just hang out together. That’s the plan for a vacant space in East Liberty, located just blocks from Obama Academy.
It’s just one of 15 projects getting money from a movement focused on building trust and better relationships.
“It’s about positive interactions in positive neutral spaces so that you can really establish relationships and get to know each other,” said Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Tiffany Costa.
Breaking down barriers and forming meaningful connections to change and save lives: That’s the goal of the non-profits receiving this financial boost.
“Our youth, especially our young black men, feel empowered seeing someone who was in the situation that he was in and be able to overcome it and make something positive of the situation. It gives them hope for today and hope for tomorrow which is who we are,” said Hope for Tomorrow Co-Founder and Executive Director Keysha Gomez.
Keysha Gomez, with the non-profit Hope for Tomorrow, is talking about Leon Ford. He launched The Hear Foundation alongside former police chief Scott Schubert. It’s an organization dedicated to building a positive relationship between the community and police.
“Often times, there’s cultural differences and things that we don’t understand about one another and when we have time to lean into those relationships, we have more understanding, more compassion which could ultimately change the trajectory of someone’s life when they’re pulled over by a police officer,” said Ford.
In 2012, a Pittsburgh police officer shot Ford during a traffic stop, paralyzing him.
“We have to acknowledge what happened to me,” said Leon Ford. “We have to acknowledge the role that I played. The role that the police officers played to really lean and hail our communities and prevent this from happening again.”
The Hear Foundation is distributing $200,000 to 15 non-profits. The microgrants range from teaching teenagers what to do during a traffic stop and helping them overcome trauma to giving them a space to be productive after school.
“There’s a lot of businesses in East Liberty complaining and my thing is let’s not complain but how do we create an environment for our youth to thrive to be encouraged, inspired and guide them towards success.”
The plan is to have the cafe open every afternoon after school starting this Fall.
Some of the other organizations that received a microgrant include A’s Vision, Artist Talk, Prevent Another Crime Today and Team 412 Boxing.
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