The Five Hands Community Entrepreneurship Institute (CEI)

Purpose:

 

To provide high-risk individuals—those recently released from incarceration, active in street economies, or exposed to gun violence—with legitimate income opportunities, business ownership training, and a pathway out of violence through entrepreneurship.

 

Target Population

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African American males, ages 18–35.

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Core Components

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1. Street Outreach & Recruitment: Community embedded staff engage and identify individuals at highest risk

2. Case Management & Wraparound Services: Individualized support plans including housing, employment, legal aid, healing circles, and trauma informed support

3. Victim Services: Immediate response and ongoing support for individuals and families impacted by violence

4. Life & Wellness Coaching: Culturally responsive coaching focused on trauma, mental health, and personal development

5. Entrepreneurship Training: Cohort based curriculum covering business planning, budgeting, marketing, and legal structures

6. Startup Capital & Resources: Seed funding, mentorship, and support with licenses, materials, and business setup

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Distinctive Approach

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The CEI begins by building trust and understanding the whole person. Supports are delivered holistically, addressing safety, healing, income, and long term stability together rather than in isolation.

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• Pays participants during training, immediately reducing reliance on survival based illicit activity

• Builds business ownership, not just employment pathways

• Centers participant voice through co design with those most impacted

• Bridges healing and hustle by combining trauma informed care with real world income solutions

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Theory of Change

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If we invest directly in high risk individuals by providing legitimate pathways to income, ownership, and healing then we interrupt the conditions that fuel gun violence, transform individual trajectories, and strengthen community safety from within.