Man With Autism Couldn’t Find a Job, So He Started Coffee Shop That Employs People With Disabilities

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A crucial part of the American dream is that if people are willing to work hard, no matter their race, age, sex, or other disadvantages, they can find a job and their happiness in life. This was the experience that led 23-year-old Rhode Island resident Michael Coyne, who has autism, to found his very own coffee shop where people with disabilities like him would get the chance to prove themselves.

When Michael turned 21 he applied for work, and applied some more, but to no avail. His mom, Sheila Coyne, remembers telling him, per Valley Breeze, “well, if you can’t find a job and your friends can’t find a job, we’re going to make our own road.”

That’s when the Coynes went on the road less traveled and made a space for special-needs people to show what they could do by founding Michael’s own coffee shop.

Michael Coyne suffers from several physical and developmental disadvantages, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and bipolar disorder. Despite these challenges, though, he has never given up on doing what he has dreamed of doing. That includes becoming an athlete in the Special Olympics of Rhode Island and receiving training in hospitality with the hopes of working as a server or host.

But as Coyne told WPRI, “As soon as I turned 21 and applied, they did not hire me.” This situation continued for three solid years before the family finally got the bug to start their own business.

Michael is far from the only disabled or special-needs person to share this experience. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, “Across all levels of education in 2018, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were their counterparts with no disability.”

Even as unemployment for the general working population is projected to soon reach its lowest level in 70 years, for disabled people it remains high. Sheila Coyne, who along with other family members has been vital in helping get the coffee shop off the ground, argues that the way businesses see disabled people needs to change.

“As parents, we look at our kids and see the value,” Sheila told WPRI. “We see what they are capable of, instead of the system that’s consistently labeling them and putting barriers.”

Once the family settled upon the idea of a coffee shop that would highlight the skills of Michael and his special-needs co-workers, he managed to get business training through the Rhode Island Developmental Disability Center.

After that, with a lot of hard work from the whole Coyne family, and inspiration from Michael’s joy at finally finding work, they opened Red, White, and Brew in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, to great success.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s done amazing things,” Sheila said to WPRI. “And he’s just a really good human being. You feel that when you come in.”

Sheila explained to Valley Breeze that that framework to help developmentally disabled people be successful baristas and cashiers is relatively simple.

By having a barcode scanner that they can use instead of manually entering prices into the point-of-sale, transactions can be made faster and less stressful. Adding an automatic timer that shuts off the milk steamer on their espresso machine also helps take the stress out of making lattes and cappuccinos.

“It’s making accommodations that I think the business community thinks is going to be costly, but it’s really not,” she told Valley Breeze. Meanwhile, the coffee hounds of the area are voting with their pocketbooks and leaving glowing reviews of the work that Michael and his co-workers are doing.

As one reviewer wrote on Facebook, “The energy of the shop is so positive and interactions between staff and customers are so genuine. I saw many individuals with a disability [come] and it’s such an inclusive space with positive vibe.”

Though the coffee shop has been an especially big supporter of first responders and armed forces personnel, past and present, they also just want to make a space where everyone can be themselves.

As Sheila Coyne told CTV News, “We are open to everyone. It’s comfortable here. It doesn’t matter your ability, your disability, what you believe in. We want to have friendships.” As for Michael, all he’s asking for is a chance for people with disabilities to work.

“We just want to integrate,” he told WPRI.