T.H.I.N.K. Serves Coffee With the Help of People With
Special Needs
July 1 - 2021
Coffee Geography Magazine
A
coffee shop in Conway is serving up brewed beverages with side of
inclusion.
T.H.I.N.K
Coffee owners John and Jo Keith offer employment to young adults with special
needs.
The
Keiths have a 13-year-old son with Cerebral Palsy, and they said when they
opened their doors to T.H.I.N.K Coffee, they also wanted to open their arms to
all potential employees.
“They
can work and have a job and be a part of society just as much as you and I
can,” Jo Keith said.
‘It makes me feel like I’m not alone,’ said Monticello teen with
autism gets a boost of confidence from football players at his school.
21-year-old
Bethany Davis is one of their employees. Davis is on the spectrum for autism
and said it took her two years to find a job before stepping in the doors of
T.H.I.N.K Coffee.
“I
actually like to get up super early just to come to work,” Davis said, “It’s
the best thing ever to me.”
These
special needs adults work for a few hours a week at the coffee shop.
John
Keith said it gives them an opportunity to fit in and have a routine.
“We
take for granted just getting up in the morning and being able to go to a 9-5
but the facts are, not everyone has that opportunity,” Keith said.
The
business opened in 2018 and a new storefront was added in February, but the
Keith’s said normalcy is important now more than ever.
“[At
the beginning of the pandemic] we were told to not connect face to face
for so long and really what you see is a lack of social skills,” John Keith
said.
Officer uses
paper, pencil to help child with non-verbal autism find family
T.H.I.N.K
Coffee currently employs two adults with special needs but said they are
keeping their doors open to new applications.
The
couple also works to provide information to resources for families with special
needs children.