(electronic music)
- I'm passionate about what I do,
because for the longest time I worked
in the legal arena for the Federal Government
and felt so completely disempowered.
Quite honestly sad the sort of grave
setbacks in the criminal justice system
and I feel didn't feel as a lawyer
that I was a part of the solution.
The systemic issues that I was seeing
were so big and on such a macro level
that I couldn't imagine how to actually
contribute to reversing it.
It was incredibly empowering to just start
my own thing so instead of asking people to do
what we believe is right, we're just doing it.
And we're becoming that model.
(upbeat music)
All Square is a civil rights social enterprise.
We are centered on a craft grilled cheese restaurant,
and a companion professional institute.
We invest in those who have criminal records,
and every six months we have a cohort of fellows
who travel through our curriculum,
and they work at the restaurant as a way
to put real money in their pockets.
But they're also traveling through a
12 month curriculum anchored in
law and entrepreneurship.
- All Square to me is a opportunity for change,
it's a real blessing.
They've opened my eyes to really make
me believe that I can actually pursue my dreams.
You know I'm not just a criminal,
I'm not just a felon.
I hope to prove a lot of people wrong.
A lot of judges, a lot of PO's,
that think that I'm just gonna end up
back in the system.
I wanna prove them wrong.
I'm not gonna do that.
I'm gonna keep moving forward.
- The support system is huge here.
I think they really care about you,
and they care about where you're
gonna go after this program ends.
So I think that's really important,
that they care about you a lot.
Because some people come in and they
don't have that support system.
When they guide us they really mean it.
But I took it as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
It will never happen again if I let it pass me on.
So, it was my future.
- The institute piece really came from
my formerly incarcerated mentors,
who really stressed in the beginning
that this thing just can't be a job,
it has to be so much more than that.
The challenges that people face when
they leave prison, extend from employment
and housing, and securing a line of credit,
securing health care, to even just
existing and engaging in democracy.
There's stigma everywhere you look.
Everything you apply for, your record comes up.
I just can't imagine having my mistakes
rubbed in my face every day the rest of my life.
I just can't imagine how discouraging that must be.
I really wanted to make sure that
the name said something about what we're doing.
We wanna use the brand to really challenge
the narrative that comes with having a record
and to send a message that you know,
once you have paid your debts you're all square
and we should all as a society support
you in moving forward.
When folks walk out of our program
and graduate from All Square,
it's to have a viable pathway into
the next big thing whatever that is for them.
Right, we're huge proponents of letting
them self identify what it is they want,
what field they wanna be in, to not only
sort of existence and subsist after
they are released but to excel into
wealth and prosperity and overall sort of happiness.
It's such a fallacy that you can't do good and do well.
Very much believe that All Square is a viable
business model and a profitable one.
And, we wanna instill that same sort of drive
for doing well financially in all of our fellows.
As a social enterprise, we're transacting
with our beneficiaries.
When it comes to reporting, and telling the world
telling funders, telling investors,
telling foundations what you're doing and why it matters.
There's a way, because you're transacting with
your beneficiaries there's a way to actually
measure that and show in dollar signs,
this will show impact that you're having
as an organization.
So for me, social enterprises in this
sort of new viable model, and always include
revenue generation, is the way of the future.
I really hope that the community and
the public at large can find a sense of
comradity and collective purpose
in a space like All Square, to get beyond
what the narratives we all have been fed,
and to just meet people and break bread a little bit.
Having that grilled cheese angle,
has been a really beautiful way to temper
some of the, sort of intensity that
can come with a mission like this.
The grilled cheese in my mind has really
become this fun ingredient that just cuts through
all of the sort of potential discord,
and there's just warmth.
There's just warmth, there's excitement,
it's just been kind of magical.
(upbeat music)
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