Charity Profile

Cafe Momentum serves up newfound hope to nonviolent juvenile offenders

Cafe Momentum transforms the lives of Dallas' most at-risk youth by equipping them with life skills, education and employment opportunities.

Cafe Momentum/Facebook

In Texas, nearly 50 percent of incarcerated juveniles will offend again. For participants in job skills programs like Cafe Momentum, that number drops to 14 percent. For Cafe Momentum in particular, it’s 11 percent.

But Cafe Momentum isn’t just a job skills program. It’s a place where nonviolent juvenile offenders can shed their “throwaway” status and discover there’s so much more available to them than a life of crime. It’s where they find a real sense of worth.

It started in June 2011 as a pop-up dinner with guest chef Jeffery Hobbs, who worked with young men incarcerated at the Youth Village Resources of Dallas to prepare, plate and serve a multi-course meal to about 75 diners. More than three years and three dozen pop-up dinners later, Cafe Momentum is about to fulfill its destiny as a permanent restaurant and culinary training facility at 1510 Pacific Ave. in Thanks-Giving Square.

Through paid internships — as dishwashers, line cooks and waitstaff — at-risk youths can build upon the critical skills learned in Youth Village pre-release programs in a safe, real-world environment of nurturing accountability. Youths like Leonardo Alvarez, who gave up selling drugs because of the mentorship and support of executive director Chad Houser and the opportunities presented by Cafe Momentum.

Vote now for Cafe Momentum — or any of the other worthy local nonprofits — in the CultureMap Charity Challenge.

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Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty is pleased to support the outstanding work of Cafe Momentum.

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Weed News

Texas Rep. Jessica González of Dallas files bill to legalize marijuana

Redheaded Blackbelt

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Texas Rep. Jessica González of Dallas has filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. House Bill 1208 would legalize the cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, and sale of cannabis.

The bill would allow adults 21 and older to use, possess, and transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use. Adults could also keep up to 10 ounces of cannabis in their residence, as long as it is stored in a secure location.

Smoking or consuming cannabis while in a public place or in a car on a public road would not be allowed.

Gonzalez filed the bill in mid-November, one in a suite of bills that also included expanding insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization for LGBTQ couples; and requiring landlords to disclose all fees before a rental lease is signed.

Her bill was filed prior to an initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on December 4 to ban THC products in Texas entirely.

In addition to legalizing recreational use, the bill also makes provisions for its production and sale including requiring that the packaging be child-resistent and clearly labeled, so that it's not confused for candy.

Businesses looking to grow, transport, test, or sell cannabis would need to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. A 10 percent tax would be imposed on the sale of all cannabis and cannabis products. Some of the profits would go towards funding public schools.

If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1, 2025.

Medical cannabis is currently legal in Texas under the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which allows low-THC cannabis to be prescribed for conditions such as epilepsy, MS, autism, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some cities have also approved decriminalization for the possession of four ounces or less of marijuana, including Austin, Bastrop, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and Lockhart.

politics marijuana