Inspired Coffee to promote workforce development for people with disabilities
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Correspondent
Inspiration Ministries President Erik Barber calls it “changing the conversation.”
After working with the long-term care provider for those with developmental and physical disabilities for the last three years, Barber said the current project Inspiration Ministries is undertaking will help bring those with disabilities into local communities, and indeed, change how people think.
The project? Starting a new coffee shop in Lake Geneva, with the idea that those with disabilities can go through a 12-month, job-training program, with the idea of integrating them into their communities – and also provide potential long-term employment as well.
The coffee shop, called Inspired Coffee, is scheduled to open in April of 2020, at the former Caribou Coffee site in Lake Geneva at 833 E. Main St.
“There’s really a challenge of getting people with disabilities jobs,” explained Barber, adding that pre-vocational training, soft skills and on-job coaching are issues for many local businesses who don’t have the time or resources to commit to with employees who have additional needs.
Barber pointed out that state agencies help, “but there are long waiting lists, and services are not as effective as they could be.”
Inspiration Ministries, which operates housing, services and long-term care facilities at its location in Walworth, has always been about providing opportunities for those with disabilities.
Learn more about Inspired Coffee in Nov. 14-15 Southern Lakes Newspapers’ publications in communities throughout the area.
