The Team
Social Venture: Demi Reeves, Micah Chen, Hunter Beirne, Sebrin Edries, Rycki Cruz, and Mohammed Nematollahi
Design Team: Lily Morgan (Project Lead), Ian Erwert, Trang Tran, and Paul Park
The Need
Bevida Coffee sees homelessness as a pervasive problem in Seattle, with approximately 11,751 people experiencing homelessness in King County. As home to one of the largest homeless populations in the United States, it is clear that the need is immense but the supply of effective and sustainable solutions is lacking. In fact, Seattle has spent hundreds of millions of dollars primarily in the emergency response to homelessness, yet the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased from previous years and is predicted to continue to rise in light of the global pandemic ravaging our country putting even more people at risk for becoming homeless and threatening the lives of the current homeless population. Thus far, resources have been focused on emergency responses such as temporary shelters, hygiene, and outreach services. While important tools in combating homelessness, emergency response efforts are not sustainable and do not address the roots of the issue: financial insecurity and lack of access to permanent housing. Without proper housing and financial security, individuals experiencing homelessness are unable to actively participate in our society and meet their own needs. Bevida Coffee is committed to saving the lives of the homeless by providing job training, employment, and access to permanent housing, financial support, and other support services
The Solution
Bevida Coffee provides training, employment, and access to permanent housing to residents living in homeless shelters in Seattle to help them achieve financial and housing security for life. At Bevida Coffee, we strive to help our employees gain access to transitional housing through partnerships with Weld and Housing Connector. To qualify for employment and housing, our clients must be sober and committed to utilizing the support networks available to them. Through these partnerships, we are able to house our employees and provide them access to additional support services during the hiring process. Once placed in transitional housing, our new hires will undergo a ten-day intensive training to become a specialty barista with Bevida. As training is completed, the trainee will graduate to operating at one of our locations and begin working towards financial security
