Our Impact
Real communities nourish each other
Preventing youth from re-entering the juvenile justice system is not enough. We can create opportunities for youth to dream bigger and unlock their potential.
Our Impact
Personal and Community Support
At Café Momentum, our paid internship program is a 12-month journey that transforms lives. It begins with orientation, where interns earn their ServSafe certification and take their first steps toward stability. During this time, our case management team works to meet their basic needs and create a strong foundation for growth.
Throughout the year, interns engage in paid professional development that build essential social and life skills while teaching financial and academic fundamentals. In our restaurant, they rotate through every station, gaining real-world experience and confidence. Our case managers walk alongside them, offering resources like parenting classes, educational support and career exploration, while helping them navigate challenges tied to anger, trauma or abandonment.
At the end of the program, graduates are placed in meaningful jobs with community partners, ready to take their next steps. But the impact doesn’t end there—our interns find belonging and a sense of purpose within a community that believes in them, while diners leave inspired and forever changed.
Our Impact
Our success is measurable
93%
of interns are making academic progress
85.18%
of interns completed or were in compliance with any court orders
100%
of interns had a bank account enabling future access to credit—compared to 25% who had one when entering the program.
77%
of interns receive counseling—100% of those entering the program had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) in their history.
*Dallas and Pittsburgh, based on one year from the start of the program.
Our Model
The Momentum Model for Youth Justice
Our model is built on three core areas of training, surrounded by an “ecosystem of support” that empowers youth to uncover their potential as they learn. This ecosystem provides the resources, guidance and community they need to thrive—both inside and outside the restaurant.
Ecosystem of Support
Internship + Program Design
The program was designed by youth development experts, therapists and case managers at the Café Momentum Dallas site in 2015. As a learning organization, Café Momentum’s program design has been refined over time and aligned with research and evidence-based practices.
Community Partners and Resources
Community partners round out the ecosystem of support we create for interns. These are an array of individuals and organizations who support interns through providing time, talent and resources both in-house and in community, and can be accessed through a referral guide.
Staff
Café Momentum staff are therapists, educators, case managers, restaurant leaders, administrative, development and operations professionals, all trained and experienced in trauma-informed
practices. Café Momentum also works with various contractors,
farmers, ranchers, butchers and vendors.
Community Services Center (CSC)
A gathering space that is adjacent to the restaurant, where staff provide case management, mental health support, tutoring and educational support and workforce development workshops. As well, the CSC is equipped with a kitchenette, lounging area and essential supplies. Open for interns to drop-in and hang out.
Educational Enrichment
Once enrolled in the program, Café Momentum supports interns to ensure they attend high school or the equivalent. This is a required part of their internship. Café Momentum supports academic progress by providing interns with education planning services, enrollment assistance, attendance tracking, tutoring and post-secondary prep (e.g., test prep, college application support, scholarship and FAFSA support, interview prep, college tours, etc.). In some cities, interns can choose to attend Café Momentum Academy, an accredited high school program.
Interested in volunteering at a Community Services Center?
Visit our Volunteer page to learn more about opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our interns.
Our Model
How Do We Know Our Model Is Working?
Since 2015, Café Momentum has served more than 1,200 youth, redefining the narrative around juvenile incarceration and the lives of those impacted by it. Through research and experience, we understand that recidivism alone cannot tell the full story of complex systems of inequity or the people navigating them. Success is shaped not just by individual choices but by addressing systemic challenges—like racial and socioeconomic disparities—and fostering support through engaged communities.
Each year, every Café Momentum location serves at least 80 justice-involved youth. We begin to measure youth participation in our program upon completion of orientation and the earning of their ServSafe certification. We look at each intern’s engagement and progress through our four Tiers of Success, which include high school enrollment and attendance, workforce development, participation in mental health services and case management external referrals for services such as food and housing.
Upon program completion and for three years after, we check in with each intern every six months to evaluate our program’s overall impact.
Post Internship Support
Café Momentum maintains and strengthens connections with interns by providing post-internship planning and outreach and follow-up after program exit. Interns may continue to benefit from the program after exit by receiving referrals and job search assistance, and by attending community-building activities and events.
Let’s get stirred up, together.
If you too believe all youth deserve to dream, considering donating to our program. Supporters like you provide our momentum.
Donate now
