Redemption Through Fried Catfish

New Orleans is known as a place of fun and entertainment for all sorts of people. Think of the world "New Orleans" and you think of its Marti Gras festival, jazz music, and its fantastic Cajun cuisine. You also think of Hurricane Katrina and the extreme poverty that this natural disaster exposed to the world: the city of fun is also crime infested and one of the most violent places in this country. Many people see these realities and are hesitant to even attempt to invest time and energy in doing something to bring about change in the lives of the people living in such a place. In a situation where many people sense such hesitancy and discouragement, one man saw opportunity to serve.

Father Harry Tompson was committed to sharing the blessing he had with those less fortunate. Through his commitment to help establish viable career options for the youth in his community, Father Harry initiated the Café Reconcile Project . This project was started in 1996 in the Central City community of New Orleans, a community blighted with violence and drug dealing. Father Harry viewed the Café Reconcile Project program as an attempt to offer young people an opportunity to learn life skills and job training in a positive and safe environment.

Sadly, Father Harry passed away in 2001. But the Café Reconcile project did not pass with him. Today the Café Reconcile programs is housed in a five-story, 12,000 square foot building located specifically in the neighborhood where it is needed the most: in a neighborhood where violence and drug abuse thrive. Prior to Hurricane Katrina the Reconcile program graduated over 300 students and set them up with jobs in hospitality and culinary fields. The program deals with a diverse group of young people ranging from 15 to 25 years old.

There are countless stories and many experiences that illustrate how many lives have been touched. One such story of a life changing experience is that of Chef Jeron Smith, once a drug dealer now the head Chef at the Reconcile restaurant. In an interview with the Youth Radio , Chef Jeron stated "I used to be a drug dealer making plenty of money; as fast as I was making it I was blowing it...working here I started making six fifty an hour. I did more with that six fifty than I did with all the money I made standing on the corner." He goes on to ask, "Who says God can't provide redemption through fried catfish and collard greens?"

There are other organizations like the Reconcile Project that pursue similar aspirations. The Inspiration Corporation , based in Chicago, was founded in 1989 by a Chicago police officer named Lisa Nigro. This program had humble beginnings as Ms. Nigro began by loading up a wagon with sandwiches and coffee and distributing them to homeless people living on the streets. This grass-roots program has several branches in different parts of Chicago. One branch of the Inspiration Corporation is the Inspiration Café located on Chicago's north side. "This program provides meals, housing, job-training and other services to homeless men and women in a therapeutic community of dignity and respect."

Organizations like Café Reconcile and Inspiration Corporation do not put forward simple solutions to complex problems. They offer, rather, concrete and tangible ways you and I can respond to the issues that surround us: poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, etc. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and observing the world, we can get engaged in those issues of concern in direct and life changing ways.

Catholic Connection:

Written at the end of the second century, the Epistle to Diognetus, contains a great deal of spiritual wisdom as to how Christians can love and serve God. The author writes:

Happiness is not found in dominating one's fellows, or in wanting to have more than his weaker brethren, or in possessing riches and riding roughshod over his inferiors. No one can become an imitator of God like that, for such things are wholly alien to God's greatness. But if a man will shoulder his neighbor's burden; if he be ready to supply another's need from his own abundance; is, by sharing the blessings he has received from God with those who are in want, he himself becomes a god to those who receive his bounty--such a man is indeed an imitator of God.

Reflection Questions

What do you think pushes youths into a life of crime and violence?

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