Change Please Coffee launches training academy and opens new location in Aurora

Can buying coffee at a cafe help fight homelessness? Well, this nonprofit coffee shop uses 100% of its profits from selling a cup of Joe to help people find employment and a place to live.

Change Please Coffee celebrated the launch of its newest cafe and training academy in Aurora on Tuesday morning. Founded in 2015, the London-based company’s mission is to improve lives and fight homelessness. And sell coffee, of course. It has locations in three states, including Colorado now, and eight countries.

Founder of Change Please Coffee Cemal Ezel said the organization chose Aurora because of the sense of community and the drive to tackle the negative stigma of homelessness.

“The most important part, compared to other cities we looked at, is that people felt more open to wanting to try and fix the problem and to help,” he said.

“We feel that by providing a solution that is positive and shows that people who are homeless want to work and can work — it gives a great opportunity for members of the public to engage with our program.”

Change Please’s profits help provide people with stable employment, permanent housing and career development programs, such as the barista training academy.

Ezel said the majority of the staff that will be working on site will come through the program and will be paid in stipends. Additionally, he said no tips will be accepted as the company believes in paying staff a living wage. According to their website, staff will get paid double the minimum wage.

Ezel also said the barriers to a person getting access to housing oftentimes has to do with job security and a rent deposit.

“What we do, in some instances, is we go to the landlords and we will underwrite the rent ourselves,” Ezel said. “We pay the landlord directly the rent from that person’s pay. So, that means that person isn’t now going to a landlord hoping that they will give them accommodation. We will secure that for them, and then the landlord knows that they’re going to receive the monthly rent.”

Referred by organizations such as the Denver Housing Authority, Colorado Department of Corrections and Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, a cohort of six trainees are selected for the six month paid training process, according to Taylor Mack, Change Please Coffee’s Denver Regional Cafe and Program Manager.

The cohort meets monthly and learns practical skills from experienced trainers like pouring latte art, dealing with customers, interviewing and how to advance in their careers.

After the program, trainees will do “shadow shifts,” where Change Please Coffee will partner with businesses around Denver to give trainees an idea of what a career in hospitality could look like.

Some partnerships include Rebel Bread, Jubilee Roasting Co. and several other businesses.