CHICAGO (CBS) — The pastor of New Beginnings church on the 6600 block of South King Drive is coming down off the roof where he’s been living for more than six weeks.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the Rev. Corey Brooks is coming down for the same reason that sent him up there – to bury two more teenagers lost to street violence.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

Brooks has only been off the roof once in 44 days, to comfort the mother of a murdered teenager.

On Thursday, he will attend the funeral of Jawan Ross, 16, one of the two teens killed in the shooting at the Church’s Chicken restaurant in the Englewood neighborhood on Dec. 27.

Despite two funerals, he remains optimistic.

“The glass is half full, and I’m pouring to get at the top, so I just choose not to live a defeated life, and so I’m just believing in the hope of humanity,” Brooks said.

Brooks is camping out on the roof of the shuttered Super Motel, at 6625 S. King Dr. His goal is to raise the money to buy the seedy old motel and turn it into a community center.

On New Year’s Eve, Brooks said, there was so much gunfire that he took cover under his futon.

“I was so scared, I wrote a letter to family; I wrote a letter to my friends,” he said.

He also wrote to his 10-year-old son.

It was “a letter about life and, you know, first date, ‘remember this,’” he said.

Brooks is halfway to his goal of raising $450,000 to build the planned community center. More information is available at ProjectHOOD.org.