‘We Push For Peace’ opens 2nd Minneapolis resource center on West Broadway

A Minneapolis organization is opening its second resource center on West Broadway to curb crime by offering free resources to the community.    

“We Push for Peace” will hold a grand opening event next Thursday and officially open its doors to the public. The new space is located inside the Merwin Liquors building.

It’s known to be a crime-ridden area and the founder said that’s exactly why they picked the spot.

West Broadway is bustling with businesses and new beginnings.

“People say they don’t want to stay over north, but it’s fine to me,” L.B. Brown Jr., North Minneapolis resident, said.

But Brown Jr. said the corner of West Broadway and North Lyndale was far from fine.

“It was terrible,” he said. “The older people couldn’t come out the house. They had to come out during the daytime not at night.”

But lately, he said there’s a difference.

“I kind of feel safer,” Brown Jr. said.

He credits the organization We Push For Peace.

For years, the group has been on the ground near Merwin Liquors and the Winner Gas station doing outreach to push out violence and bring in resources.

Founder Trahern Pollard said you see results when you build relationships with those at-risk.

“We have a lot of relationships and because of those relationships they respected the space when we came over here,” Pollard said. “So now we can get down to the underlying issue.”

He explained those issues are lack of housing, food and employment.

So the organization opened its second resource center right in the heart of the problem. The community hub will have job resources, therapy to tackle mental health challenges and counselors to get clean.

“For individuals that want to go to treatment, We Push for Peace will financially pay for them to be able to do it,” Pollard said.

Pollard said he’s inspired to do the work because of his childhood experiences.

“When I was growing up we often felt like people didn’t care,” Pollard said. “So my grandfather used to always say to me, ‘What good is information if you’re not willing to share it?’”

Pollard said that’s what the group plans to do and they’re seeing the results first-hand.

“It’s peaceful. People are coming back to the store they’re glad to see the parking lot is empty. They’re glad to see us here,” Ladon Braxton, We Push for Peace member, said.

The founder said plans are in the works for the organization to buy the building so they can have full control over revamping that area.