Wildflyer Coffee COVID-19 Update
To our community,
Wildflyer Coffee has always been a community response to youth homelessness. We believe now more than ever a coordinated effort among our supporters, all youth-serving nonprofits, and the county is required. We are working hard to collaborate and provide timely, safe supports to our employees while following best practices. We also value the health and wellbeing of our staff and youth, and have been and will continue to evaluate our operations plans daily as new information comes in. We are continually weighing the priorities of the health of our team and the supportive employment services we have built our mission around.
Here is our most recent update of how we're adapting our services to keep supporting youth experiencing homelessness through this crisis.
Per the ban on large gatherings, we have canceled all scheduled markets, pop-ups, and private catering events. As I'm sure you can imagine, this has significantly disrupted our normal operations.
We are saddened to report that we have temporarily suspended progress on our coffee shop search until we have further information on the long-term forecasts for this pandemic and the service industry. We won't sugarcoat it; this was hard as we were very close to experiencing the growth for which we all collectively worked so hard. However, we believe right now, the wisest course of action is to hold tight until we feel we can make more informed decisions. We know we will get that shop, so stay tuned!
Per the most recent announcement of the Shelter in Place order, we have made the difficult decision to cease all other youth packaging activities going forward. This was not a decision we took lightly as we know our youth depend on us for their livelihood. Many of our youth are staying in shelters or couch hopping, making it difficult for them to follow social distancing or protect their health. All of our youth take public transit to get to work, and it does not feel prudent to ask them to expose themselves in that way right now. We have reached a point where it is too risky for our youth and staff to continue asking them to come to work. We desperately hope this will only be for 2-3 weeks and are shifting to other methods of support.
We are currently not hosting classroom sessions and performing check-ins via phone and facetime. We are partnering with donors and other agencies to assist our youth in meeting their immediate needs for survival and safety at this time.
We are also using this time to connect with prior program participants, which has been an unexpected benefit. The hard reality is that many of our program graduates had moved into jobs that have been greatly affected by the current business closures. For the time being, we are working with all Wildflyer employees, past or present, providing basic needs items and offering guidance around benefits and unemployment resources.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we will continue to adjust our operations as required, keeping the health and safety of all staff and youth at the forefront of our minds. In this time, we feel renewed in our fight against youth homelessness. This crisis reminds us of the privileges some have that many do not. Let's not take for granted things like having a home to quarantine in or adequate financial resources to make it through an uncertain economy. There is a large portion of our community that does not have those luxuries, and it's more imperative than ever that we work to address their needs. We will continue to keep you updated, and we hope you are staying well.
With gratitude,
The WFC Team