RACINE — There is one story I have wanted to cover for nearly a year. Since June 13, 2023, I've been emailing back and forth with the owner of a Racine business. At last, nearly a year later, the store is open, and it's making a big difference in the community.
Step into The Inclusive Bean. It's a non-profit cafe that employs teens and adults with disabilities. It opened on March 23rd.
“Not too many people with autism get jobs, but with The Inclusive Bean I was able to get a job," he said.
Watch the story on The Inclusive Bean...
Jarosz has been with The Inclusive Bean since 2022 working various pop-up events before the cafe opened a brick-and-mortar location.
He said he is "overjoyed" to work at The Inclusive Bean partially because he gets a variety of responsibilities. In previous jobs, he felt undervalued and under-worked.
“I was only given one job like assembly line worker or janitorial worker. And I kind of didn’t want to be limited to just those one jobs, and that’s why I kind of left those jobs.”
At The Inclusive Bean he is prepping drinks and operating the cash register. That goes for the other employees too like Sasha Mattes and Alex Boxall. All of them gain valuable job experience while mastering skills they already have and learning new ones.
“And just giving people that wouldn’t otherwise have these opportunities the opportunities essentially to flourish and thrive in an environment that hopefully they feel loved and supported in," Amelia Fahnrich the co-founder of The Inclusive Bean said.
At the cafe, employees work on following multi-step directions and practicing their executive functioning skills which include: critical thinking, planning, time and resource management, and organization among others.
“And we chose a coffee shop specifically because of the social aspect that it brings, you know. Not just putting them in a corner again just cleaning things like that. Bringing that social component which is sometimes challenging for individuals with disabilities," Fahnrich said.
She is also the principal at the Sonnenberg Schools in Racine which is a school specifically for students with disabilities.
"Employment that will build skills. So I was really invested in finding something or doing something that I could give them more than just monotonous cleaning tasks. Really things that just can build upon what they already know, or maybe don't know, and willing to work with them on building those skills," the co-founder said.
The Inclusive Bean gives employees real jobs with real responsibilities. It's not a diluted professional environment. That's exactly what people like Ben want.
Real jobs with real responsibilities. *nat cafe* That’s exactly what people like Ben want.
“I know people may be a little different with autism or any disability at all, but that doesn’t mean you should bar them from employment just because of their disability.”
He has been denied jobs before or felt undervalued. At The Inclusive Bean that doesn’t happen.
“With the Inclusive Bean, there’s hope.”
The cafe is open seven days a week.
- Monday - Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday - Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
You can learn more about the cafe, get employment information, or make a donation by going to The Inclusive Bean website.
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