FERGUSON, Mo. — His faith in Ferguson has him focused on the future.
Joshura Davis with Best Insurance Agency has sat in this same spot for more than 30 years.
The window next to him is a bird's eye view of West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson. He calls it ground zero of the unrest after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr.
When Davis walks into work, he's presented with the past.
"Here I was on the cover story," Davis said, pointing to a framed St. Louis Business Journal front page hanging in his office.
The display is a reminder to reach for brighter days.
"I mean look out the window, for awhile I looked at a vacant lot. I want the 24,000-plus cars that drive down West Florissant (Avenue) to know there has been a change and things have changed for us," Davis added.
In recent years, West Florissant Avenue received an $18 million federal grant to beautify the area and reconstruct 1.5 miles, which is considered a principal arterial in the St. Louis area.
A new multiuse path will improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Davis welcomes the funds.
He also wants more commitment, like the ones his neighbors have made.
This includes the Urban League's Ferguson Community Empowerment Center, built on the site of the burned down QuikTrip.
It's where the program 'Save Our Sons' came to life.
"It was birthed out of the Michael Brown unrest," said Tydrell Stevens, the program's director.
From conception, Stevens explained, the center has had 4,000 career placements assisting 9,000 individuals, including Johnnie Cotton.
"As I was walking down the streets, I seen Save Our Sons. I saw some flags, and I walked in," Cotton said. It was an open door, an opportunity, after 17 years in prison.
President Barack Obama gave him clemency and Save Our Sons gave him a new life.
Cotton bounced back with a job at the Missouri Department of Transportation and a home. His goal is to pay it forward.
"I come to help, every time I try to talk to a young guy, I bring them in," Cotton said.
After 10 years since Brown's death and the unrest, Cotton thinks more jobs are needed to move Ferguson forward?
Stevens believes the future means doubling down.
To expand, Save Our Sons moved into its new 60,000-square-foot Centene Connected Community Center.
Stevens explained it's creating a pre-apprenticeship program that will be launched out of the Centene building.
It will also have a paid internship program.
"We're looking to ensure that we're getting more than 250-300 individual new high skill credentials, putting them in a category to be placed on jobs landing at $75,000 or better," Stevens shared. "Looking at the future, I believe more collaboration and consistency needs to continue to happen."
Davis wants more investment.
"Give me a grocery store, give me a restaurant. I don't think it's a lot to ask for," Davis pointed out.
Next to a view of constant changes, Davis now has a window into the future.
He added, "I know what was and I know what can be. That's what kept me, the promise of a good bright future."