Job Training

Madison and I continue to attend Dry Bones events and build relationships on the streets. Over the last few weeks many of our friends are getting job interviews, but so few are actually getting jobs. It makes me see the need even more clearly for Purple Door. We hope to teach our friends interviewing skills, job skills, give them a job history, give them positive references, and be a source of encouragement for them to help them keep going.

Job training ministries are interesting places to work. There is certainly never a dull day. I have the opportunity to lead the Bible Study at Bud’s Warehouse on Friday mornings. Lead is a relative term. Really, I pick the passage we read and we go from there. We’ve been bouncing around the Sermon on the Mount lately. It’s amazing how scripture speaks and moves in our lives. I learn more than I teach in this setting. It is awesome and challenging when I see aspects of faith that are stronger than my own in that room on Friday mornings. I am excited to see that take place at Purple Door Coffee–to be challenged by our employees while simultaneously challenging; to grow together as we walk our personal paths.

Purple Door will be a place of community, a place of love, a place of respect, a place of challenge, a place of growth, a place where Christ is evident. Our prayers is that Purple Door will be a place where God is glorified and all people are changed.

“A Problem”

To be viewed as “a problem” impacts one in a deep way. It impacts one’s understanding of who one really is. It prevents one from seeing their own value.

Our friends on the streets encounter this every day. With the passing of the urban camping ban here in Denver this profile of being “a problem” is even more strongly embedded into our friends’ minds.

Our friends are not a problem. They are valuable people that are in a difficult place, fighting an uphill battle. They are people that deserve love and can give love; people that are funny; people that are creative; people that are helpful. Our friends on the streets are not a problem.

Because of their value, we don’t want them to stay in the situation that they are in. We want them to experience a safe place to sleep. We want them to not have to worry about whether or not they will eat today. We want them to be able to meet their daily needs. We want them to lead a physically, psychologically and spiritually healthy life.

At Purple Door Coffee we hope to communicate that our friends are not a problem, and that we want what is best for them. We want to communicate that they are valuable. We want them to realize that they matter, that they can make an impact, and that they are deserving of a healthy life.

We hope to equip our friends to lead that healthy life. Help us in this journey to communicate to our friends that they are not a problem and to equip our friends to lead a healthy life by donating here.

God is doing some cool things with Purple Door Coffee and we hope you can join us in this journey.

Purple Door Coffee Vlog!

Crowdrise Page
Purple Door Coffee Facebook
Ceramics in the City Event Page
Ceramics in the City Website

Generational Impact

Generational impact. It’s a bit of an abstract concept. So frequently we think only of what is in front of us. We think of immediate needs and the needs of a single life. Seldom do we think of how choices made now impact our descendants–the next generation. This is true of all people in all places. Generational impact is real, but difficult to wrap our minds around.

Generational poverty is a widely studied and researched concept. It is a cycle that is vicious and difficult to break. Most of our friends on the streets were not born into wealth and affluence. Most were born into situations that mimic theirs today, and research shows that without marked changes in their own lives, their children will enter a similar situation.

Changes that are made today (positive and negative), affect those who come afterwards.

I’m reminded of the Biblical story of Abraham. Abraham was told by God to get up and move to go to a land that God would show him. I don’t know about you, but when I move, I like to know where I am going. Abraham just left. He took his family–his whole life–and moved. Had he not done this, the narrative of the nation of Israel would not have begun through him. An entire nation was established because of the change made by Abraham. He made the change based on a promise for the future, the promise of becoming a great nation. Not a promise of riches or immediate power, but a much more nebulous and futuristic promise.

Many of our friends have experienced a lot of negative changes in their lives–many of which have been decisions made for them. When a pattern of changes being negative develops, it is difficult to make the necessary changes to improve one’s situation.

We hope that we can provide the support needed for our friends to make the brave decision to change. Change in a way that improves their situation for themselves and for the future.

It’s important that our employees realize that the changes they are making as they work to improve their situation now will impact the rest of their own lives, but it will also impact the lives of their children and grandchildren. Their changes will change the trajectory of their future and their family’s future.

This generational impact is very important to us at Purple Door because it is about working towards the repair of a broken system. God is restoring all things to himself by using His people, and we are blessed to be a part of that restoration in this specific area.

It also helps us remember that one life changed by God through Purple Door Coffee is not a solitary life, but a life that is connected to many lives. That changed life will have a ripple effect to others.

Abraham got up and moved. He changed his life, but never saw the full fruits of that change. We at Purple Door must remember that we will never see the full fruits of the changes that are started in the lives of those connected to us, but it is still worth it. And our employees may not see the full fruits of their change either, but we pray they find conviction and courage knowing that they are impacting their family generations from now by making positive changes now.

The Widow and her Lottery Ticket

Many of you might be familiar with the story of The Widow’s Offering in both Mark and Luke. Here is Luke’s account of that story- Luke 21:1-4 “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

I love this story so much because it emphasizes the beauty of sacrificial giving. Another reason I love this story because I am currently experiencing the reality of what it means to live on someone else’s donations. Through my experience, I have realized that every single penny donated helps us so much more than anyone can ever know. I would like to share a story with you that happened to me just two nights ago. Yep, just this past Monday night! That means that you are on the cutting edge of society because you are receiving immediate news from me, a highly credible source of information.

So, I moonlight as a Zumba instructor. I teach only once a week and I LOVE it. After class this past Monday I went out to eat with a group of students and we chatted about life and its ups and downs. While we were chatting, someone asked me to clarify exactly what I am doing right now for work. The set up of our work can be pretty confusing, so I get questions about this a lot. I explained that Belay Enterprises is incubating us and that we are currently working at Bud’s Warehouse as Goal Coaches so that we can learn the ins and outs of running a non-profit job-training program. I talked about how we are working to raise money to open Purple Door Coffee and that we are also raising our salaries and spoke briefly about the stresses that come along with raising money. After explaining these things, one of the ladies, Linda, quickly reached down into her purse and pulled out a small, square piece of paper. She handed it to me and said, “I don’t have any money to give, but I just won $25 on this lottery ticket and you should have it!” Linda is truly one of the most giving and supportive people that I have ever met. She continues to amaze me with her generosity and encouragement with each interaction. This story is so beautiful to me because on Monday night, Linda gave Purple Door Coffee what she had; money that she could have spent on an awesome meal or on a girls night out or on some new shoes for her two beautiful kids. Linda’s generosity has given Purple Door Coffee so much more than $25, it has given us encouragement to get through today and press forward to a goal that is much bigger than both Mark and I.

(Just to clarify, Linda isn’t a widow. She has an awesome husband named Doug. I titled this story ‘The Widow and her Lottery Ticket’ because her giving reminded me of the story in Luke that I mentioned earlier.)

The super exciting thing about this kind of giving is that you have the ability to participate! YAY! We have a Crowdrise campaign up and running to raise money for coffee equipment for Purple Door. You can become a part of this journey to open Purple Door Coffee by donating here, today. Please consider donating to help us create jobs for kids who are working so hard to get out of homelessness. I assure you that every little bit helps!

Crowdrise Campaign- http://www.crowdrise.com/purpledoorcoffee/fundraiser/purpledoorcoffee/1/return/success/success

We love you guys and are so thankful for all that you have already given! Peace and blessings.

Love, Mads.

Start-up!

We have a lot of money to raise. Our start-up costs are budgeted at $122,156. That’s a lot of money, but let’s look at why that is.

We are a non-profit. Non-profit start-ups typically have a small sum to raise when they are first getting off the ground, and the amount needed increases as they grow.

Purple Door Coffee is a non-profit, but our model is more business based, and so we have a large sum to raise in order to open as a business. Once that money is raised we can open our doors and begin generating revenues which will decrease the amount of money that we need to raise with each sale.

We have a goal of being fully self-sustaining after three years of being open. There is beauty in this model. The amount we have to raise now is large, but in the long run this model provides sustainability to our ministry–which is very exciting.

Once we begin having a surplus of funds we hope to be able to take those funds and use them to serve the same population in a new way.

Our $122,156 figure is a big, and it is sometimes difficult to see past it. We are very intentional about maintaining a long term view of the ministry we are engaging in. While we hope to reduce this number through donations of equipment, furniture, labor, etc., this is the amount needed if we were to purchase and pay for every item and service in the process. And in the long run, this is a very reasonable number.

We have raised just over $16,000 of this initial start up cost. We still have a long way to go, but we are so thankful for those who have bought into this mission and vision of Purple Door Coffee and have shown that through financial gifts.

If you are interested in partnering with us as we journey towards helping our friends establish life off the streets click here to see how to donate.

Please contact us if you have questions about our model or our budget.

Blessings!

Inconvenience or Major Setback?

Sometimes on the streets there is just a weird vibe. Last night was one of those nights. I still can’t put my finger on it.

Thursday nights are spent with Dry Bones at their weekly bowling event and hot meal downtown. Dry Bones gets a bus and takes everyone that shows up out to a bowling alley. We are there for a little over an hour, load back up onto the bus and head downtown where a hot meal is waiting.

To start the weirdness, the crowd at bowling was a lot smaller than usual. Which is fine. It was just different. At the meal we had about the normal amount, maybe a few more than normal. As weather gets nicer the population at the outdoor events tends to grow. There were a lot of kids that were just passing through last night–hitchhikers and train hoppers mostly. It’s interesting to see that culture interact with the mainstays here in Denver.

Most of the individuals that I have gotten close to in the past few months were either gone, or just not themselves last night. They weren’t as happy to see me, or anyone really. Most didn’t feel like talking. They pretty much wanted to get some food and head out.

In processing last night I have realized how little things impact our friends on the streets in much more dramatic ways, and so that can affect their moods and actions in a bigger way.

Example 1: If I miss a meal that is being offered for free, I can get into my car drive to a restaurant and buy food. If my friends miss that meal, they sleep hungry that night.

Example 2: If I lose my ID, I can grab my birth certificate and social security card which are kept safely, and go to the DMV and wait and have the problem resolved in a day. If our friends lose their ID, they need to track down their birth certificate and social security card. If they are missing one or both, what is a several hour process for me could be a 6 month or longer journey for our friends.

Example 3: If I wear out a pair of shoes I can: 1) Change to a different pair that I already own 2) Buy a new pair. If my friends’ shoes wear out, they must wear them until they can get some for free, and those have probably already been worn by other people, or they won’t fit quite right, or try to save some money to buy some. Since our friends walk a lot of the places that they need to go, a bad pair of shoes is very noticeable to them.

These are just simple things that I gave little to no thought to prior to working with this population. But when you live in these conditions a bad day is amplified greatly. So, if a few of our friends are having a bad day, it’s noticeable in the group.

Everyone has bad days, it’s just that our friends’ days can get pretty bad, pretty fast. This just really helped me see the need for love in the lives of our friends on the streets.

And in regards to Purple Door, we’re trying to make it so the little things aren’t as big in the lives of our friends. We want them to be able to have a job and earn money so that they can buy the things that they need. We want them to learn skills on how to deal with issues that arise in a healthy way. We want to walk with them as they journey to a level of stability that makes every day inconveniences into simply that–an inconvenience–instead of an issue that is going to set them back a great deal.

Purple Door Coffee Video

Hope. Story. Humor.

We’re working on a video for Purple Door Coffee. We have interviewed some of our friends in various stages of connection with street life. Some that are young in the culture on the streets, others that have been away from Street Kid culture for awhile, and still others that are right in the middle of the culture. We asked questions about job history, life goals, experiences in the workplace, job market–the areas we specifically are seeking to impact. We really just tried to have conversation with a camera on, and there were a few things that struck me in these conversations:

1. Hope. There is hope everywhere on the streets. Our friends have goals to be veterinarians, own their own house, get married, own their own businesses. But that hope doesn’t seem to be enough to get them there. They have too many roadblocks right now, and so their hope is frequently deferred. Proverbs 13:12 tells us that when hope is deferred it makes the heart sick. I have seen this from time to time on the streets. Our friends will be hopeful about their future and hit road block after road block which then turns into depression or destructive behaviors or other signs of having a “sick heart”. So, at Purple Door Coffee we’re trying to remove some of those road blocks and help grow that hope that is in the hearts of our friends so that they can really work towards their goals with some success! The second half of Proverbs 13:12 says “but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
2. Each story is intensely personal. When asked about my job history I can rattle off the jobs I’ve had in my life pretty quickly. There are some interesting stories that arose when I worked at the grocery store or when I was a go-kart attendant, but no painful memories. Our friends on the streets have had very different experiences in the work place. Some have been victimized in some way, whether by being exploited and cheated out of money or experiencing some sort of abuse or harassment. These interviews helped me see the struggle that employment is for those that have been pushed to the edge of our society. We hope to help them find a path to sustainable employment in a healthy, just and safe environment.
3. Humor is a good thing. Even in the middle of their tough situations our friends maintain their humor. They’re funny. We laughed a good amount when chatting for our video, and we seem to laugh a lot when we hang out in general. Laughing is a good thing. We hope to provide a place that teaches job skills and helps our friends rebuild lives, yes. We also plan to laugh together!

Be looking for the new video in the not too distant future! Blessings to you!

Community–Part 2

Looking back at all the stages of my life, what is most memorable is not the houses/apartments I lived in, the cars I drove, the job that I worked at. What is most memorable is the community that surrounded me. When I think of my time at College, I don’t think of my class schedule or my work study jobs, I think of my friends, my professors, my church community. When I think of growing up I think of the people I went to school with, the people I worked with, the families that were in my life. Community is what shapes a life experience.

This is why creating a community in our space is so important. It is very important that Purple Door Coffee is a place of love and belonging for all who enter. If you don’t know where our name comes from, historically the color purple has been associated with royalty. We desire to treat all people like royalty–from customer, to vender, to employee. The Door symbolizes an opportunity to a new life. So, our desire to create authentic, transformative community is right in our name.

While working to open, a big aspect of what we are doing is connecting to the Christian community in the city of Denver in order to share our heart and our vision, and with the hopes that the community of believers will embrace what we are up to and create a living, vibrant community in our space when we open.

Community is very important because many of our friends on the streets have experienced only one accepting community in their lives–that is the community present on the streets. This alone can cause difficulty in trying to distance oneself from street life. Their is love shared between our friends on the streets, but that same community is where many of the decisions are made that keep them on the streets.

With the community we create at Purple Door we hope to draw on the positive aspects of the community experienced on the streets and replace the negative aspects with positive community as our employees seek to begin a new life. Until our friends find and connect to a new community it is nearly impossible to exit street life. It is so important that our friends are surrounded with healthy and loving community as they seek to start fresh. We cannot create this community alone and ask that you partner with us in our journey to shape a healthy, accepting community that is a true testament to the love of God.