Restaurant Aims To End Homelessness 1 Pizza At A Time
DENVER (CBS4) - When he was mayor, John Hickenlooper launched the city's campaign to end homelessness. Now more businesses are getting involved.
Pizza Fusion was voted best pizza and No. 1 green franchise.
"Their goal is to save the Earth one pizza at a time," said John Parvensky, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless President. "Our goal is to end homelessness one person at a time," Parvensky said.
But Pizza Fusion is extraordinary for another reason. Located in the Renaissance Uptown Lofts in Denver, it's the first business to partner with Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
"Our goal in Pizza Fusion is really to provide that supported employment, transitional employment environment. That first job for someone who has been on the streets for a while and has not been working," Parvensky said.
Alfreda Anderson became homeless after several years of unemployment. She's been working at Pizza Fusion since it opened in June.
"It gives you dignity to know that you're back in the work force and your finances are better, so that you can support your family," Anderson said.
"Of the 11,000 people who are homeless in metro Denver tonight, a significant number of them want to work. They just cannot compete in the job market today. With a program like this, we'll be able to make those connections, remove the barriers that are keeping them from employment, and help them get the job so that they can leave homelessness behind," Parvensky said.
Pizza Fusion Denver is the only Pizza Fusion franchise with a job work program. All 23 employees are Coalition clients. All net proceeds support the Coalition's job training programs.
LINK: Pizza Fusion
