Redemption kitchen Welcomes You

Who We Are

Inspirational Learning

Ralph Salazar became an educator by way of life experience, and that’s why his reentry programs have been so monumentally successful in helping youth and adults reform their lives and rededicate themselves to their families and their communities.  The programs 
he has created work because he’s faced many of the same struggles and setbacks his students have faced.
After returning home from a deployment as a U.S. Army combat medic during the military operation in Saudi Arabia known as Desert Storm, Salazar found himself unsure of how he fit into society. He was even less sure of what he should do next in his now unfamiliar status as a civilian. 
 Salazar developed an intervention program that has become his signature: Changing Our Youth in America, or COYA.
COYA started as a scared-straight program but morphed into a reality-infused course that gave adolescents a look inside the reason why they turned to the streets, and generated awareness as to how they could address those underlying problems and move past them. 
The program has become a 13-week course that focuses on victim impact and the four major risk factors associated with it, as well as goal setting and self-esteem. They are the key topics involved in motivating his students to create the lives they want to lead—off the streets.
COYA doesn’t stand alone. Salazar has created numerous supplementary courses on related topics for niche audiences at the request of probation and state and local governments. He’s also worked with Nevada’s youth probation to mentor kids who were at risk of re-offending. Today, Salazar is turning his attention adults who’ve seen the inside of a jail cell but want to create a better life for themselves and, most importantly, for their families. This new venture started on a whim. Salazar purchased Dougie J’s Café, a restaurant in Las Vegas that was founded in honor of a fallen veteran to keep that young man’s memory alive in his community. When asked if Salazar would be willing to hire a couple of guys with food and beverage certifications who’d just gotten out of prison, Salazar said, “Why not?” Watching these new hires work the line was the impetus for Salazar’s endeavor: a reentry program for adults seeking redemption. 
This new reentry program is a line cooking course licensed  by the STATE OF NEVADA as a PRIVATE POST SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.  It pairs Nevada state reentry initiatives with life skills training combined with the secret sauce of mentorship and encouragement from a teacher who knows exactly what his students are going through.
“I just want to see people succeed,” Salazar says. “I want to help improve their quality of life.”