CALIFORNIA
New coffeehouse fulfills dreams for former foster kids
Some do so without having much support and life skills — they lack reliable transportation and don’t know how to budget or cook for themselves. The Dream Center and Coffee House is designed to fill those gaps and help foster kids, who are typically removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, to thrive.
It’s a partnership between the county’s Network for Children, which is run by the Superintendent of Schools office, and Dagny’s, the downtown coffeehouse. Current and emancipated foster youth can get information about higher education, transportation and job training and coaching assistance at the resource center. The coffeehouse component gives them the chance to build job and people skills.
The Dream Center serves coffee, teas and sodas, regular and Italian, and baked goods. Free Wi-Fi service is available. Mike Walters, Dagny’s owner, wants the Dream Center to be the “third place” for foster youth, a spot where they’ll feel comfortable and want to spend time. “I want to run two separate businesses for the most part, but I want them to be interchangeable,” he said. “We’ve got to have a consistent, great product and we’ve got to take care of our customers.” His seven employees are 18 or older, and he’s rotating them to shifts at Dagny’s so they can experience a busier environment.
Taniya “Rose” Winston, 19, is not new to the caffeine business and loves working with people. She entered the foster care system at age 12. The job helps her care for two younger sisters. Winston attends Bakersfield College and plans to transfer to Cal State Bakersfield.
Work experience is crucial for foster kids’ survival, said Karine Kanikkeberg, a resource teacher for the Kern High School District. “It gives them a lot of self-confidence; it teaches them responsibility,” she said.
Monday was the Dream Center’s soft opening; a grand opening celebration and open house will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 7. The county leases the building from printing and office equipment business AB Dick/IPS. J. Philip Bentley, its president and chief executive officer, said his family’s owned the building for about 35 years. It used to be a livery in the late 1800s, and it features the original sheet metal ceiling from that time period.
Bentley is pleased to be a part of the program. “Any time we can put money into something that allows kids to get established, go on to school, and have the ability to be self-supporting and tax-paying citizens, it’s certainly worth the cost.”
Jenny Shearer
24 September 2008
