CLEVELAND, Ohio — A local leader in prisoner re-entry and criminal justice reform is fresh off of a visit to the White House.
Founder, President, and CEO of Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute Brandon Chrostowski was invited for an event discussing second chance hiring.
"It’s really affirming that there’s bi-partisan support on an issue that affects many, many, many people and that as a human being, the race, the gender, the ethnicity, the past shouldn’t matter to you fulfilling your dream in this country," he said.
Edwins provides culinary arts and hospitality training for six months to people who’ve been in the criminal justice system.
It started at Grafton Correctional Institution but has since expanded to 13 prisons, Edwins Restaurant in Shaker Square, a campus with free housing as well as a butcher shop.
"Every human being regardless of their past has a right to a fair and equal future," Chrostowski said.
"We’ve got to disrupt and get inside of this society and show that hey, look, just because someone’s done something in their past doesn’t dictate who they are for the rest of their lives."
It’s a situation that he knows well. Chrostowski says he was thrown in jail but was given a break and dodged a ten year sentence.
A chef mentored him and got him off of the streets, and that led him to kitchens around the world. Now, he’s working to do the same for others.