Avivo and Wildflyer Coffee partner to help end youth homelessness in the Twin Cities

“Watching young people’s confidence grow during the first couple of weeks at Wildflyer Coffee is special,” shares Emily Schloesser, program manager for Avivo’s youth employment programs.

Two years into a partnership between Avivo and Wildflyer Coffee, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit coffee shop with a vision of ending youth homelessness, Emily is proud of the success the partnership has seen, with Avivo providing employment support for 2-4 Avivo participants in each four-month session, called cohorts.

“Watching young people’s confidence grow during the first couple of weeks during their time at Wildflyer Coffee is special,” shares Emily Schloesser, program manager for Avivo’s youth employment programs.

Wildflyer first opened as a coffee cart in 2017, and then opened a brick-and-mortar coffee shop on Minnehaha Avenue in 2020. This year they opened a new St. Paul location, and the Avivo-Wildflyer partnership has grown to include placements of Avivo participants at both locations.

Wildflyer is structured as a social enterprise nonprofit, with program staff and paid internships for young people in the program. Young people experiencing homelessness are hired into one of four cohorts per year. Participants, when hired into a cohort, typically average around 20 hours per week of paid work experience.

Photo: The scene is set before a graduation ceremony for the spring cohort at Wildflyer Coffee. Photo courtesy of Wildflyer Coffee.

“Watching the young people in this program turn into leaders as they build up important basic work skills and learn how to handle work expectations is inspiring,” shares Emily. “Seeing them figure out who they are and know that it’s OK to be who they are, is really great.”

According to Wildflyer program manager MacKenzie Diessner, both organizations’ common values made the partnership possible.

“How Avivo and Wildflyer want our relationships with young people to look and how we want to hold people accountable and support them are aligned,” shares MacKenzie. “From the youth side, our goal [at Wildflyer] is to provide a stable work environment that understands the complexity that homelessness creates for young people.”

“How Avivo and Wildflyer want our relationships with young people to look and how we want to hold people accountable and support them are aligned,” shares MacKenzie. “From the youth side, our goal [at Wildflyer] is to provide a stable work environment that understands the complexity that homelessness creates for young people.”

MacKenzie shares that given the unique and difficult circumstances youth experiencing homelessness might face, there are often issues that come up that might prevent a young person from attending work. She shares that one way of showing you care about and respect someone is having expectations and holding them accountable.

“We practice flexible accountability. If you’re an hour late for work you won’t be fired, but we’re going to talk about it and provide any support or resources that we can to help.”

The young people are also linked to financial support for necessities such as bus passes, gas cards, nonslip work shoes, or work attire. They’re also connected to customer service workshops from local businesses and organizations such as Caribou Coffee and Normandale Community College, financial wellness workshops, and a workshop on mental health in the workplace.

Wildflyer also works with the youth to create a housing plan, or to find resources for housing.

“These last two cohorts we had the most youth obtain stable housing ever in my time,” shares MacKenzie. “We have five youth who obtained stable housing in the past three months, which is really cool.”

The unique pairing of employment and supports the Avivo-Wildflyer Coffee partnership empowers youth to their next best steps. “With all of the youth in [Avivo’s] programs,” shares Emily, “We’re just hoping they get to a place where they feel like they have some control over their lives, know where they want to go, and know that when they take those next steps we are there to support them.”

Learn more about Avivo’s youth employment programs. Funding is provided in part by the City of Minneapolis. If you’re an adult and in need of employment assistance, find out more here.