The Business of Social Justice: Making a Difference, by Amelie Mapapa

           In America, the social justice is unfair; when you have a police record you can’t work anymore so you are not integrate in the society and the only thing you can do is to go back in prison.

But thanks to sweet beginnings those people have a second chance in their life, they can make their family proud and they can be trust by the society.

Sweet Beginnings is a wholly owned subsidiary of the North Lawndale Employment Network. It is a place where you can have a full time transitional jobs for people who where incarcerated and for other who have a significant barriers to employment.

And on Wednesday, March 25 we had the opportunity to visit the place where beelove product are made; those products are all natural skin care product made with honey. It is really impressive to see how those product are made, they don’t use machine everything is made by hands.

When professor Beck told us that we are going to a place where people who have been in prison work, I was a little afraid because of the stereotype we have of prisoners. But when you are in this place you don’t have the impression that those people where in prison. 

During the visit of the place, the neighborhood strikes me because it was abandoned, dirty, you don’t have the impression that people live there. Our professor explains to us that there was a time this place was full of rich people but now is a ghost place.

 

A picture of the neighborhood

In the link below you can found a video in witch you have some testimony of people who were in prison and who have now a second chance in their life; they have a job-training program that helps them to be back in society.

 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsrIoCe7K6g&t=69

 

 

          The same day, we also met a cancer survivor name Jonny Imerman who has created Imerman Angels, which is a nonprofit organization, which pair patients with cancer survivors.

When I listen to his story I was touch he beats his cancer twice at the age of 26 and 28, he is a powerful person. Thanks to his story I know that I have to enjoy each second of my life because I don’t know what can happen to me tomorrow. We only live once and we have to stop complaining.

In the links below you can found a lot of testimony of people who have hope.

 

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/health/cnnheroes-imerman-cancer/

 

 

To conclude I can say that Sweet Beginnings and Imerman Angels have both a common point. Thanks to both of them you have hope in your life, the first organization helps you to be insert in society, and have a new life and the second one you have a new life. Both of them make the difference that the reason why the tittle of the day was: “Making a Difference”.