Atlanta nonprofit helps youth build careers and confidence

An Atlanta nonprofit is helping youth and young adults who have had direct contact with the juvenile justice system.

Cafe Momentum Atlanta started in May of 2025 with a mission to provide young people with life skills, education and job opportunities. The nonprofit has had 46 participants complete the one-year program.

The participants, also called interns, are trained in different positions in the cafe, and when they are not working, they are on the other side of the building receiving mental health services, playing pool or doing schoolwork.

Sandy Welfare, executive director of Cafe Momentum Atlanta, said that the program is designed to help participants learn everything about the restaurant business while also connecting them to services and community.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that we actually offer hope,” she said. “We offer a pathway for whatever they may feel they want to do in the future.”

She said the skills they learn can help them secure their next job.

“These young people are figuring it out, and we’re helping them to figure it out, and the great thing is we’re a resource to give them guidance, give them some direction, and more importantly, when they leave, we’re going to still be championing them,” Welfare said. “We’re gonna still be jumping up and down for them.”

Cafe Momentum Atlanta is open Wednesday through Friday for lunch and dinner services.