Life lessons, one coffee at a time
Behchoko's Joan Lafferty worked at cafe where homeless welcomed
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, September 12, 2016
BEHCHOKO/RAE EDZO
Joan Lafferty says she learned a lot more than just how to serve coffee at her summer job in Kitchener, Ont. with Northern Youth Abroad.
Joan Lafferty, 17, from Behchoko spent her summer working at the Queen Street Commons Cafe in Kitchener with Northern Youth Abroad. - photo courtesy of Thorsten Ghol |
The 17-year-old from Behchoko spent her summer working at the Queen Street Commons Cafe, a vegetarian cafe with intentionally low prices to create a welcoming environment.
"At my cafe, it was basically anyone was welcome, including the homeless. Anyone can just go there, you don't have to pay to be there," Lafferty said. "They taught me how to be really kind. I feel like it helped me."
Lafferty said staff at the cafe also taught her the importance of staying calm in stressful situations, especially when dealing with customers.
"My coworkers were really friendly and they knew just what to say," she said. "Some situations aren't worth being mad over or sad. You just gotta let it go."
When she wasn't working at the cafe, Lafferty visited other parts of Ontario, including Stratford and Toronto.
She also took a Maid of the Mist boat tour of Niagara Falls and attended a Blue Jay's baseball game in Toronto.
Lafferty arrived in Kitchener on July 9 and returned to Behchoko on Aug. 17.
She said she enjoyed every minute of her trip.
"I liked everything," she said.
Lafferty is now in Grade 12 at Chief Jimmy Bruneau School and said while she hasn't yet decided her career path, her experience at the Queen Street Commons Cafe has added social work to her list of possibilities.
"I'm thinking social work because I know I like to help people and maybe that would be a good career for me," she said. "But I'm still thinking."
Lafferty said the cafe is a great example of how to create a safe and welcoming environment for those who need it most.
"Everyone needs to find their own space, they need one place where they can go and sit and think and work things out," she said. "I think that cafe was a place of space for everybody - including myself."
