Presentation Minutes


Coffee Oasis -  https://thecoffeeoasis.com/

  • We want to present who we are. 
  • Dave Frederick, Executive Director, Coffee Oasis - frederick@thecoffeeoasis.com
  • Patrick Steel, Youth Program Director, steele@thecoffeeoasis.com
  • Currently operating in Kitsap County -  locations in Port Orchard, Bremerton and Poulsbo, – Kingston soon.  Meeting with folks on Bainbridge Island, so heading there also.
  • Want to be where the youth are, instead of the youth having to find us.
  • All locations have:
    • Street outreach workers – connecting with folks on the streets
    • Oasis assist – connecting with youth counselors at schools – offering mentoring and classes in schools
    • Provide a continuum of services
    • Moving kids up the line – building relationships, trust, offering hope.
    • Outreach – drop in centers at all location - safe an welcoming place
    • We are a faith based organization – that means that we are followers of Jesus.  In the same way that Jesus welcomed people who had been rejected by religious people, Coffee Oasis welcomes everyone, especially those rejected by others (Dave did a lovely job of phrasing this, which I didn’t catch very well –ed.)
    • We love and serve and care for every youth no matter who they are, what they’ve done, how they identify.
    • Mission – changing the world for homeless youth through evidence-based programs and coffee-based businesses
    • Life skills classes
    • Showers, laundry at all locations
  • Youth are brought into a family where they are loved.
  • Case management is available, with focuses on:
    • Education
    • Housing
    • Employment
    • Life needs, like mental health, substance abuse, id, leaning to drive
  • Job training programs are available – connect youth with employment options. 
  • All locations are coffee houses, cafes, youth drop in centers and have ll the programs that issue out of that.
  • Can do internships at coffee locations
    • Goal is employment after 6 months of internship
  • Can also do internships at partner agencies
  • Underage and overage shelters - 16-20 year olds – state licensed shelter of up to 6 youth.
  • Also operate houses:
    • House for 18-25 year old females in Poulsbo
    • House in Bremerton 18-25 males
    • Home being developed in Port Orchard – for females exiting sex trafficking – opening soon
  • Recruiting homes in Kitsap county to do host homes – so can expand the full range of 13-25 year old youth to exit homelessness
  • Crisis intervention team –
    • where outreach crisis manager connects with first responders – police, fire, hospital, building relationships,
    • 24 hour crisis text line
    • Case manager in the jails – case manager connect in jail – very successful reducing recidivism – move into housing at exit from jail.
    • Full time mental health therapist – hiring another ½ time one
    • Hiring a chemical dependency professional
  • Model is café businesses, social services,
  • Interest in Tacoma –folks identified that there are homeless youth not being served in Tacoma and were interested in Coffee Oasis model.
    • Not here to be a savior, or a perfect answer to homelessness
    • Have had lots of meeting
    • Care a lot about homeless kids – in the 21st year serving homeless youth in Kitsap County.  60+ employees – care about homeless kids.  Want to help them out of homelessness.
    • Are a Coordinated Entry partner for 18-25 year olds in Kitsap county.
    • Want to partner and collaborate – do so with every organization in Kitsap county
    • See Coffee Oasis as one piece of the puzzle – se we can serve the youth that are here.
  • James – rumor has it the property on hilltop has a letter of intent to do operations there – how far along are you in toward opening in the RiteAid building.  Dave –We are understanding the landscape and the community need and how to meet the need and what role we might play in that.  We have no preconceive notions of what programs to operate or where to locate.  The folks bringing us in to the community are not set on the RiteAid building. 
  • James -  There is some concern about the way LGBTQ youth have been received at coffee oasis in Kitsap county, and other questions about how you serve LGBTQ.  Pat – been working with services a long time – glad to join you this morning.  Coffee Oasis has been operating for 20 years.  About 15% of clients served are LGBT, and about 15% are African American.  In Kitsap county, we have a wonderful coordinated entry and coalition of care.  We work as a partnership with other service providers.  Many people ask us ‘what does it look like to be a faith-based organization working in a community about homeless youth?’  It works, because we focus on serving the population and on really caring for the population.  One of the first steps in researching opening a program in Pierce County was meeting with the Oasis Center (Pierce County’s drop in center and much more for LGBTQ youth, info at http://www.oasisyouthcenter.org/ -ed.) and hearing what their needs are.  We are a faith based community that is about love and inclusion.  Many are turned away by spiritual leaders in Jesus time – Jesus was about the fringes.  We care for folks on the fringes.  Many good friends are from the youth population, and it is a  privilege to serve and love all youth where they are.
  • Martha – We have had a very respected agency called Oasis in the community for 20 years, are going to change your name?  It is very confusing.  Dave – had that conversation with Seth (Seth Kirby – Executive Director at Oasis Youth Center – the LGBTQ centered one).  Said name is the biggest issues, once he understood who coffee oasis really is.  We have begun a conversation – we aren’t going to change who we are.  We may, in Tacoma or Pierce County, be a Doing Business As (DBA) that changes our name to something like Coffee O-Tacoma (I think that is what he said).  We want to be a peacemaker and make this work in this community (he definitely said that –ed).
  • Sherri – Is there a timeline for when you will begin serving youth? Dave – no timeline, we are just now having the first coffee oasis Tacoma core team meeting for individuals that want to help coffee oasis become a reality in Tacoma.  Looking at RFI from the City/County.  Met with Nick from REACH (Nick Bayard, Director, REACH) to talk about biggest niche that could be filled.  Pick up pieces from Community Youth Services leaving?  Underage shelter?  Generally, all communities we were invited into all the communities we are in – that is important to us.  In a month or two will have a community forum to show who we are.  It will probably take a year from when we are invited to be a part of the conversation to launching a program, and then rolling additional programs out in the future.  Still looking at properties and locations.
  • Theresa – as someone that works for New connection, an organization that shares its name with other organizations – I want to say that it works.  We are glad you are here and delighted you want to be a part of our community.  We are not a closed community, are excited to have more services for youth.  A lot of our anxiety comes from making sure you are collaboration with our community.  Beacon Center location is accepted by the community – we are hoping that you would collaborate.  Lots of complexity in getting a good location for services.  Please feel welcome and know that youth homelessness is a big deal to us.  Dave – that is why we have started by talking with Mike Yoder (Executive Director at Associated Ministries) and Denny Hunthausen (Director for Catholic Community Services Southwest),  Seth Kirby with Oasis and Michael Mirra (Director with Tacoma Housing Authority)– want to be collaborating.
  • Al – I’m reassured that you serve everyone.  What is the composition of your staff and your employment policies?  Dave – Not sure what all my staff “are”.  Hiring policy – must agree with mission,  and core policies.  Anyone can interview.  Hiring is based on competency and an agreement with mission and core values (which do require, as faith-based organizations can choose to do, a belief in Jesus - https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=The+Coffee+Oasis&vjk=f5011e14d54c87ad .  So only Christians are hired for staff positions.  Dave, please correct me if I’m misunderstanding your policy -ed) .  We don’t ask what someone is.   5 core values?  Truth – honor god.  Compassion, community excellence, replication (more details at https://thecoffeeoasis.com/who-are-we/ -ed)      
  • Colin – great to hear, been involved in trying to bring a youth shelter to Tacoma – such a challenging population.  Been working on it for 5 or 6 years and don’t have anything solid.  Even if we had 2 youth shelters, it wouldn’t be enough.  Are you looking in other areas in pierce county?  Any other communities? – Puyallup, EPC, Lakewood?  Is the core group Tacoma folk only?  In the 21 years you’ve been doing this, what are some of the challenges coming in and setting up shop.  Dave – that is a lot of questions.  Pierce County is big – we see ourselves as coming to Tacoma, and possibly expanding from there.  We want to be where the Youth are – but starting from Tacoma and spreading from there.  But we aren’t coming in to take over – we are not trying to scare you.  Pat – every time we’ve come into a community – we’ve been invited – but funding is always a bit different – tough to not fit into a comfortable box.  Kitsap County isn’t that big – but each community is different so the programming at each location is different.  We want to meet the needs of the youth.  We are enthusiastic about coming into this community and getting the flavor here.  Colin – from youth standpoint, what are some of the big challenges with working with youth.  Coordinated Entry and unaccompanied minors is challenging -  the issue of consent is fun.  We want to wrap around services with schools and mental health providers, but it is always tough to talk with one another with the complex consent issues.  Are we communicating and coordinating around someone well – but tough to wrap all services around to support a youth.  
  • Larry – been to Coffee Oasis.  How do you do the Coordinated Entry – is there a call center?  Pat - We have a network – coalition of care – many of those individuals at our site are partner agencies – we have a housing solutions center at the Kitsap community resources – they take the spear head (I didn’t quite understand this when he said it, and it makes even less sense written down – I must have missed something -  sorry about that  -ed.).  Have 23 partner agencies.  Larry – how does a youth get connected to coordinated entry?  Pat – any of the 23 partner agencies can do the assessment to get access, and get placed through any of the partner agencies.  Don’t want folks to go from shelter to shelter to find a space – want to have a place nearby to go.  Our agencies can share information in the HMIS system to help someone find shelter. 
  • Carolyn – heartened by the collaboration – I work at UPS – like your collaboration.  We struggle with intersection of racism and homelessness.  This community is part of the SPARC research project.  How does that fit into your history.  Is race and discrimination something you’ve grappled with.  Dave – not to that level.  A significant percentage of our staff are racial minorities.  We are committed to being inclusive to both youth and our staff (inclusive of staff who are in full agreement with the Statement of Faith - https://thecoffeeoasis.com/who-are-we/statement-of-faith/ - again only Christians.  Dave, please correct me if I’m misrepresenting this –ed.).
  • Dave – going to find out today if we’ll get a building changes grant that will focus a partnership with the African American community and host homes.  Pretty sure we are getting that grant today.
  • Raney – unclear about the LGBT – statement of faith identified marriage between man and woman (https://thecoffeeoasis.com/who-are-we/statement-of-faith/) – that makes me feel unwelcome.  Also, why only serving 15% LGBTQ – they make up 40% of the homeless youth.  Dave – Directors met to discuss removing “marriage between a man and woman” bit – wanting to be welcoming – up front that can seem not welcoming.  Directors met to make a decision to take that off the website (unclear if removal from the website means it is no longer a part of their statement of faith, or if it is just not going to be published -ed) – to state who we are – representing Jesus in how he was welcoming.  We are all different – with own convictions and beliefs.  We will be making that change.  In terms of the youth we serve  - we may serve fewer LGBTQ youth because there is a center focused on LGBTQ youth in Kitsap county – so many LGBTQ folks may choose to get services there. 
  • Patricia – you mention 5 core values – truth – honoring god – you equate truth with honoring god in everything you do.  You mention you hire – when does someone have to believe in the 5 core principals to be served or be hired.  Dave - We serve not simply LGBTQ – but atheist community or Jewish kids.  We serve every kid – they don’t have to agree with our goals to be served.  Patricia – do they need to agree with core beliefs to be interns?  No, not to be an intern.  We value all kids – even atheists and lesbians.  A recent facebook post from an atheist youth who was served extensively  said of coffee Oasis, “they are good people, even though they are faith-based”. 
  • Joseph – RiteAid – lots of good coffee places within 3 blocks – how is your coffee better?  Dave – been to Manifesto Coffee.  We are very much a part of the community – we have competition nearby.  We do  have direct trade coffee, we roast our own beans – you wouldn’t ask about the quality of our coffee if you’d tried it – it is superior (clearly joking, but maybe not. –ed).  When we are invited into Poulsbo – one group that opposed the site was a coffee house owner – so we came to Poulsbo, and we reached out to them, and became friends.  Good business needs other good businesses.  We are soon moving into a community with 15 other coffee houses in a six block area – another coffee house doesn’t have to hurt business, it can help other businesses.  And, again, we aren’t set on the RiteAid building. 
  • Al – We’ve been grilling you – I’d like you to grill us.  You are here to get information to decide whether to be here.  Can we help you by you asking us questions.  Dave – for us it is the whole continuum of services, as well as crisis intervention.  The questions we are asking has to do with the gaps, the need.  The need in our community is so great that having one shelter doesn’t mean there can be another.  If we are playing a board game, I will beat you.  Al – but we are putting together a puzzle, not playing a board game.  Dave – we aren’t coming in to compete with anyone – we are coming in to be part of the solution to serving our youth.
  • CYS staff whose name I didn’t get – CYS brought a continuum of services from Olympia – but it was hard to be away from Olympia, and they failed in a lot of ways.  Could have been a stronger partner if they simply came in and did just one or two things.  For instance, we don’t’ have drop in services now.  Can you come in and do just one or two things.  Dave – thanks for what you said.  I talked to Scott (Scott Hanauer, hydroplane legend Chip Hanauer’s older brother, I believe, but also CEO of Community Youth Services –ed.) for about ½ hour. Me asking them why they are leaving Pierce County, and he was very helpful.  If we come into Tacoma, our intention isn’t to lead it from Kitsap county.  Our intention is to have a director in Tacoma directing from Tacoma/Pierce County.  The intent is to have it be a separate 501(c)3.  We are trying to learn from that CYS experience.  We want to start small, and once things are solid, grow from there. 
  • Martha – who needs to invite you.  We’ve had this need for 5 years.  We visited Coffee oasis when we came 5 years ago – we are very excited about you.  You have a great record and reputation dealing with a diverse population.  Don’t know who you are waiting on – we invite you.  Dave – it isn’t like we have to be invited – we can just come in and take over.  (laughter).  Martha – there is a gap and a need, and no one has stepped up to fill it. 
  • Questions - Have you talked to any of the youth in the area – youth advocates?  Pat – want a youth as part of our core team so we can see what they desire. 
  • Colin – curious about your funding makeup.  Government funding?  Dave – mostly mafia- (nervous laughter).  Businesses – $1.3m, grants $850k, donation around $900k (I’m pretty sure this last number is correct, he was talking fast – ed).  No federal funding – though state homeless youth funding – county and city funding, and private foundations.  Crisis team and therapists is paid for by 1/10 of 1% mental health funding. 
  • James – are you a licensed Behavioral health organization?  Dave – have MOU with  an organization – youth see them at coffee oasis – James – like Kitsap Mental Health – Dave – yes.
  • Al – on the business side – you represent a positive model to the business community – have you spoken with the chamber of commerce?  Dave – we are part of the chambers in Kitsap county.  We partner\ with business and social service agencies.  Trying to have an impact on businesses – some businesses want to be more of a social enterprise businesses like us. 
  • VAIDS – housing for success – you are a breath of fresh air – it is nice to hear someone, regarding coordinates entry, also have issues.  Cant merge folks into the same system. – applaud you and welcome you.
  • CYS staffer – should talk to folks on the front lines – those who work with the youth.  We can give you the straight up, non-sugar coated, people doing the actual work, information.  Dave – if you offer to talk, we gladly accept.
  • Tacoma Police Department – a Coffee Oasis Story – I’ve done lots of stuff while working for the Tacoma Police Department, currently do runaway and homeless youth work.  In 2017, there were 677 reported runaways and homeless youth.  And that is just reported.  Back in November, I had a runaway.  Was able to get a tip they were at Coffee Oasis.  Tracked down their Case Manager and she knew client.  Took a trip to Coffee Oasis – got a tour – worth a trip.  It was the Port Orchard facility.  Coffee shop, but also a home away from home.  Spent 2 hours there.  We really need one in Tacoma.  Met with Dave to beg them to come to Tacoma.  A Tacoma runaway making the trek to Port Orchard – that is extraordinary.  Client ended up in treatment and connected to Jobcore.  We need this in Tacoma.
  • Patricia – I want to address the elephant in the room.  Concerned about Coffee Oasis’ relationship to the LGBTQ community.  Many in Tacoma are familiar with Angela and Jack Connelly and their anti-trans activity.  What is the relationship with Angela – will you be affected by the funding from and coordination with those individuals.  Dave – 2 things – I’m talking to both Angela Connelly and Seth Kirby – helping youth is what is important to me and everyone.  Coffee Oasis isn’t owned by Angela Connelly or Seth Kirby.  Coffee Oasis is called to fulfil our mission and do it will.  If we can collaborate with Seth and collaborate with Angela, and if that is a blessing to better serve our youth, we will do it.  I’ve spoken extensively with Angela and know Angela’s heart – and want to be in a conversation to move us forward.  Angela – will be brief.  I’d love to have a further conversation with anyone to talk deeper about all of this.  I’ve been a women and children advocate for a long time – concerned about trafficking and rape.  The bathroom bill felt like there was a way forward – like what Starbucks and the YMCA are doing - providing a gender neutral space.  It felt like there wasn’t a great way to move forward where everyone felt dignity and all transgendered folks’ and everyone felt safe and respected.   I did speak out and wrote in the news tribune –that is the gist of what I said – about the dignity and respect of everyone – that we all need to feel loved, respected, have dignity, and feel safe.  I’ve tried but not been successful to have conversation with leaders in the LGBT community.  I feel honored to be a part of all of this.  I thank you for this question and the opportunity to say this.  I find coffee oasis to be absolutely inclusive – the feel, the welcome.  I also work with homeless teens.  I met recently at the beacon Center who I’ve known as she grew up, and it became personal.  Her sexual identify is fluid and I love her.  It is a huge injustice that your ID is checked at the door and that there is no room for you.  I have a lot of hope. (I’m pretty sure I didn’t do a great job catching all the right words here, but I think I got the general idea –ed). 
  • James – appreciate respectful way we all discussed this. 
  • Dave – invite folks to have conversations – discuss ongoing concerns. 

 

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