{"id":8974,"date":"2023-01-31T20:47:55","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T20:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=8974"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:59:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:59:53","slug":"building-an-inclusive-community-one-sip-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2023\/01\/31\/building-an-inclusive-community-one-sip-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Building an inclusive community, one sip at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"
In most ways, 321 Coffee looks like any other trendy caf\u00e9 on a busy Saturday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Sunbeams filter through full-length windows. Pops of turquoise, mustard yellow and scarlet punctuate the shop\u2019s interior. Twenty-somethings and young families fill the tables, bundled up to ward off the January chill. It\u2019s hard to believe that the shop on Morris Street\u2014321\u2019s third storefront location\u2014 just opened its doors in December.<\/span><\/p>\n While the drinks and pastries are scrumptious, what sets the shop apart is its deep commitment to inclusivity. The vision for 321 Coffee was brought to life in 2017, when co-founders Lindsay Wrege and Michael Evans went into business together. The pair first launched a pop-up coffee stand out of a dorm room at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. After opening two successful shops in Raleigh, they expanded to the Bull City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By hiring adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and sensory processing disorders, 321 is paving the way to a more diverse and welcoming workforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As 321 regular Celia-Bess Cotton said, <\/span>\u201c<\/b>It brings visibility to a community that feels invisible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a former public school educator, Roberts has had years of experience working with people with disabilities. She carried her skills from the classroom to the coffee shop when she began overseeing day-to-day operations at 321\u2019s Durham location. Her favorite part of the job is watching members of her team gain confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>We’ve had baristas who would be at the register and would completely shy away when customers would come in. Now, they want to stand right at the register and greet,\u201d Roberts said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEven if it’s a potential customer walking by, they’re like, \u2018here comes a customer\u2019! So just to see the change, and to see them build confidence and take pride in something and be excited to come to work.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/p>\n For Wrege, a 23-year-old with chestnut-brown curls and a sunny smile, inspiration for the coffee shop came from close to home. After she switched schools in elementary school, the first students to truly welcome her had intellectual disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n Emma Wissink was among these \u201cfirst friends.\u201d Wissink, who has Down syndrome, immigrated to North Carolina from the Netherlands in fourth grade. At Green Hope Elementary School in Cary, she and Wrege became fast friends, playing together at recess, carpooling to dance, and going on family vacations. Their bond has continued into adulthood, and they now work side-by-side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wissink, who has worked at all three 321 storefronts, loves her job. She first learned the craft of coffeemaking in a high school occupational readiness class. Now a seasoned barista, she was quick to recommend the shop\u2019s iced lattes (which was delicious, as promised).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She has felt a warm welcome from the Durham community so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow [customers] embraced me was kindness. They were really kind to me, and they didn’t judge me at first,\u201d Wissink said. \u201cI was kind of happy about that, too, because usually people judge a person with a disability, but \u2026 it felt different.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The stigma Wissink described may help explain the employment gap between adults with intellectual disabilities and other Americans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For the more than 6.5 million American adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, finding consistent employment can be difficult. A <\/span>2013 survey<\/span><\/a> found that only 30% of working-age adults in this group are in the labor force, compared to 76% of adults without disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Though 321 hires folks with and without disabilities, they make a special effort to include a community that is often left behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Durham storefront currently employs nine baristas and three managers. In total, of the more than 60 employees across 321\u2019s stores, Wrege estimates that over 50 have disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>It’s difficult to find jobs for our population that aren’t considered menial,\u201d said Cotton. \u201cYou know, low-level jobs where it’s either, they’re busboys or they do sweeping and cleaning and that kind of stuff in a supermarket setting.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In her professional role, she helps clients with day-to-day tasks, including healthcare, social skills, and budgeting.<\/span><\/p>\n For the past two years, she\u2019s worked alongside Thomas \u201cTommy\u201d Preston, a 41-year-old with Down syndrome. Preston struggled to hold a stable job before becoming a barista at 321 in Durham.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis job, well, I thought was really quite suited for him because Tommy is a fast learner, as long as you present things to him in a way that he can understand,\u201d Cotton said. \u201cIt’s a good thing for him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As Cotton spoke, Preston filled coffee orders and wiped down countertops and tables.<\/span><\/p>\n He says his favorite parts of his job are, \u201cMy friends, and my coworkers, and my teammates \u2014you know, a lot of people here in the shop. I like to make coffee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cotton has witnessed Preston\u2019s self-esteem blossom since he found employment. He\u2019s been able to achieve longstanding goals, such as a night to himself at the luxurious Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club. After saving up his earnings, he recently booked a room, just shy of his upcoming birthday in February.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTaryn Ryder, a young barista with dreadlocks and bright red fingernail polish, stands at the counter at 321, beaming as she takes orders on a touch screen. To her side, manager Sarah Roberts slips in some quick reminders. She\u2019s there to make sure that the little things \u2014 a customer\u2019s milk preference, for instance \u2014 don\u2019t fall through the cracks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
When people with intellectual disabilities do find jobs, they often work part-time and for lower wages than their non-disabled peers. Those jobs are often unskilled, said Cotton, who works with Triangle Disability & Autism Services, a nonprofit that supports children and adults with disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n