Alive Community Outreach was born out of pain transformed into purpose.

After the 2016 murder of a family member, Rev. Angelo and Marie Mante, the founders of Alive, began walking alongside survivors of violence, creating spaces of support, connection, and dignity for those navigating trauma and loss. Through that work, a deeper reality became clear: responding to violence after it happens is necessary—but not sufficient. If communities are to change, the culture that produces violence must also be transformed.

In the years that followed, time was devoted to studying Kingian Nonviolence, building partnerships, and assembling a team committed to disciplined, long-term cultural change. Alive officially launched on January 1, 2020.

The first school partnership began at South Side High School, where students stepped into formation as Peacemakers—learning to confront harm, transform conflict, and build Beloved Community from within their own school. At the same time, survivor support remained central, and community members increasingly sought training to carry these principles into their own contexts.

Rooted in Kingian Nonviolence and informed by a Christian commitment to agape love, Alive’s work developed as a unified model: supporting those impacted by violence, forming young leaders to prevent it, and equipping the wider community to practice nonviolence as a disciplined way of life.

Today, Alive continues to cultivate a community of nonviolence through relationships and education, trusting that when people are formed in courage, restoration, and agape love, cultures can change from the inside out.