 Welcome to Serving Locally with Me. Your host, Michelle Dynas, podcast where we spotlight service in the Longmont and surrounding communities. All right, let's connect. Welcome to Serving Locally with Me, Michelle. Today's episode, we are spotlighting the Recovery Cafe, which is right across the street from where we're at right now. And I'd like to introduce Jen Jepsen. And the first, we'll just start off with who are you and what is the Recovery Cafe and just like a little nutshell. Yeah. I've been in Boulder County since 1995. So I've been very invested in this community. I was a stay-at-home mom for years and then I became a pastor. And then I became the executive director at Recovery Cafe Longmont starting in July of 2023. So tomorrow officially marks seven months on the job. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. Can you just say, just a little quick overview of what the Recovery Cafe is? The Recovery Cafe is a community of refuge and healing for people who are in recovery. And so what we like to say is that everyone is in recovery from something, which means everyone is invited to the cafe, but really we work at the intersection for people who are struggling with substance use disorder, alcohol use, people who are struggling with trauma, mental health challenges, homelessness. So we really like to work at that intersection and we provide a meal every time we're open. We are open five days a week. And so we offer support through peer support specialists. I like to say that's the secret sauce of what we do because they are people who also are in recovery. And so they have lived experience and they get to really work, walk alongside our members. And so it's just a wonderful place to be and to belong. That's awesome. Give us a little background about the Recovery Cafe. Yes. The Recovery Cafe Longmont is part of a larger network. So we have a network across the country of about 65 cafes. We are the only cafe in Colorado. We have been around for around four years. And so we exist in the basement of Central Presbyterian Church at the corner of Forth and Kimbark. And we were really started out of a mission from the church. We are not a religious organization. And so we really strive though to participate in the community, to partner with our local community partners to get people the resourcing that they need. And we have such a wealth, as you well know, a wealth of support in this community. And so it's really cool to see how we can all work together. Now, is the Recovery Cafe nationally four years old or is that just Longmont? Just Longmont. Do you know how old the whole program is? I believe the network started in 2015. Oh, okay. The network came though out of Recovery Cafe in Seattle, which I believe that started in 2008 or 2006. I'm not 100% sure. It's a lot broader. That's awesome. What is your focus at the Recovery Cafe? Our focus is community. Our focus is providing a place for people to belong. We're really learning with our partnership with the criminal justice system that so many people have to start over again. When they come out of treatment, they have to start over again. They don't just start over with new friends. Sometimes they have to take a break from their families. And so we provide an opportunity for them to really get that footing and to find their place in this community again. Build a good foundation of support. Yeah, exactly. And then from there, growth can happen and new challenges where they can feel supported in those new challenges. And so like I said earlier, our peer support specialists provide an amazing platform from which they can launch from as well as the people that they meet in the cafe. That's awesome. So who are you trying to reach with your organization? Trying to reach everyone. Everyone, everybody come on down. Although that's a little bit much. It's a pretty tight little basement. It is, I've been there. We're just really trying to reach the people, not just the people that we want to serve, not just the people who could use our services, but we have a really robust volunteer group of support. And so we call them ambassadors of hospitality. And so they engage with our members and our guests at a really beautiful level. We want to have people who wanna teach us things. If you know how to do something and you wanna be like, I wanna give back a little bit. We have what's called a school for recovery. And so we have, that's open to the public. And so we have people come in and teach us new things, which is really cool. One of the best parts of being in the cafe is you don't know who's who. We're all just in there together eating, doing art, playing, I just left and they were playing beanbag toss and or reading or whatever it takes. It's like, I've discovered that it is a second home for many people. And so we just wanna reach anyone who feels a calling to being part of a community. And I think in these fractured times, that's really essential. And I believe that foundation for so many of our concerns and struggles in our society really stem from loneliness and isolation and not having, we have one of our main values is radical hospitality and our other main value is loving accountability. And so we're working in that, those two things in tandem, really trying to say, here's a place for you to belong. And also we want something from you. We want you to participate in the life of this community. We want you to be drug and alcohol-free while you're in this community. And want you to be part of a recovery circle as well. That's really cool. What makes the work of the Recovery Cafe different than other similar serving organizations? One of the ways that sets us apart is we have a membership model. And I did just reference our membership requirements, but I'll outline them again. So we ask people, if they come into the cafe, they can be a guest for one or two times. And they're welcome to participate for those one or two days. But then we say, we would like you to become a member and we ask them to do three things. We ask them to participate in the life of the cafe. That might mean keeping it clean or providing support to somebody, whatever it looks like on that day. The second thing we ask is that they are substance and or alcohol-free in the space. So that is number two. And then number three is, we ask that they participate in a recovery circle. So that means once a week, they have their circle that they are a part of and they get to meet with the same people and just do a check-in. It's not like anything dramatic, but it's just a chance to go, okay, this is what I'm struggling with this week or here's what I see in you and I wanna lift that up in you. So an opportunity to have a conversation with people who might be at the same spot they're in. And dedicate some time. Yeah, yeah. And I think also to our what sets us apart is our dedication to eating together. Another volunteer opportunity at the cafe is cafe cooks. We don't have a kitchen that we can cook in, provide food in. So we have people bringing food to us every time we're open. So we have a bunch of dedicated cafe cooks who love nutrition. And so we get all very healthy meals, which is wonderful. We have a couple, as an aside, we have a couple of local restaurants that donate to us too, which is wonderful for those exceptions. But we eat together every time we're open and that just really is where our lowest common denominator lies, right? Like what can we do together that brings us together where we don't have to disagree? We all get to agree on food. Air, water, food. Exactly. What are the greatest needs for the recovery cafe? You know, we always love more volunteers. And like I said, cafe cooks, that is always a need. We are in need of a new building. We are in a basement and we've been there about two years too long. And it's small. It's small. So we are in the process of- And I imagine where it's located. Makes it somewhat daunting for some to want to be a part of that. Yeah, we've got a couple. One is stairs. We don't have any way in or out without a multitude of stairs. That's true. And then the religious aspect and really seeking to be a place of community for everyone. And yes, being in the basement of a church probably has more impact than we realize. A lot of the time. So we really are in the process now of identifying a new space and moving forward in that. So I think 2024, 2025 will be an exciting time for the life of the cafe. Hopefully some growth and some relocation. Yes, I hope so. Awesome. Do you guys have leads? Yes. Okay, awesome. We do, yeah. There are some things in the works. There are, yeah. It's very exciting. Stay tuned. Thank you. Do you have any events coming up or volunteer opportunities? Obviously, we've got the cooks and stuff. But I know you guys do, I know you guys do some cool events. So let's talk about that. Yeah, we, monthly, our most favorite thing is open mic night. So the first Friday of every month. And it is a great collection of community members from the cafe, Longmont community members and beyond. And we have everything from sharing photographs to singing original songs. And so it is a real treat to bring everyone together and just celebrate community. We offer pizza too. So we also, every Friday night, including our open mic nights, we offer AccuDetox, which is an acupuncture that takes place in the ear, on the outside of the ear. And we offer that at six o'clock every Friday night. And it's an opportunity to challenge the body and provide relaxation as well as help with recovery and other things. So that's a neat community event as well. And are these events free? Do they have to register? They're all free and no registration required. We just want to see your face. What else do we have coming up? What if you want to be involved with the mic night? If you have a song that you want to do. To show up, to show up. Put your name on the list. There you go. Cool, it's very easy. Low stress. Yeah, so we have a good time with that. So those are the two that stand out right now. But every day we're open, we have something going on. So how can people contact and find out more about the Recovery Cafe? Of course, they're already in my link tree. They've been there for the whole time I've been here. Thank you. Yeah, and I'll put all the information in the show notes and stuff. But yeah, how can they contact and find out more about what you guys... Yeah, we have a great social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, Recovery Cafe Longmont. You can follow the network too if you want to get more information about what the larger network is doing at their website, recoverycafenetwork.org. But we're at recoverycafelongmont.org. So you can just go there and find what you're looking for. We have an active calendar. So on there to see anywhere you want to plug in. And if you have any questions, just no problem giving us a call. Yeah. Awesome. Is there anything else that you would like to add to the conversation that maybe I skipped in and talking about or you just feel passionate about that you just want to talk about for a couple of minutes? There's some stories maybe that hit home. So one day we all know there's a crisis with people coming from South America up to the US trying to find their way into escape, you know, really severe situation down there. Yeah, the whole situation is not fun. No, it's terrible. No way you look at it, yeah. Terrible and people have traveled a long way. We had four men from Venezuela found us because they asked someone on Main Street, is there a place we can go? And someone happened to have a recovery cafe card. And so they popped in one afternoon, just a random day, thankfully it was kind of slow. And our bilingual peer support specialist, Christina was able to work with them and come to find out they were trying to, they didn't, we fed them. They didn't need anything really from us other than they needed to get to Missouri because they had work and family in Missouri. So we called over to Hope. They had some funding to navigate this. So we had two people come over from Hope and then our peer support specialist worked together. And all in the cafe, they were able to get these four young men to where they needed to go. That's awesome. You know, they didn't become members, but this is what we get to do is intersect with one another. We don't have to reinvent the wheel as a cafe to do what our partners do. We just need to know that we have robust relationships with each other to be able to call them in when needed. And so that's just an illustration of just a random Wednesday afternoon in the cafe, which it just warms my heart because it's what we do. You know, we pivot on a dime and we do what we need to get done for the community and for people beyond our community. That's awesome. Yeah. I like that to be able to not just connect with people but other organizations to, hey, we don't know how to do this, but we want to help. Or we have this person. So that's, yeah, I love that just to connect and get people what they need in those resources because it's hard for them to find where to go, who to talk to, how to connect with somebody else. So, yeah, and I find that there's these spiderwebs and some of them connect and some of them don't and some of them have their hub of, these are my resources and to just like connect everybody. We'll make a huge impact on the strength of our community. Exactly. And we have a great community and it is a joy to be a part of it. It is, it is, it's definitely, I think it's unique. I mean, I don't know, but I hear it seems unique in doing this and talking to organizations that are like, nowhere else is it like this. And we're at the Longmont is this special little gem that has just been so much fun digging up and finding just the beautiful heart underneath all of it. Well, thank you for connecting us all. Yeah, I don't know. You're doing your part. I'm trying. It's awesome. Thank you. We all get to do our part. Yes. Well, thank you so much for all that you do. Thank you. And for taking over the role for the Carvery Cafe. That's awesome, seven months. And yeah, thanks for being on the show and if there's anything else I can do for you guys, please don't hesitate. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you to my guests, my listeners, and my supporters. Serving together, we can strengthen our community. Please like and subscribe, do all those other things. You know you got to do them because that's the easiest way that you can serve right now. All right. Now go connect with others and be a blessing. I'm taking up skills to build community and destroy loneliness at my church right now. And it's been really, really cool. So, and this is, they've just started where their third like go around with people and stuff. And I just, I feel all of that. Feel all of that. That the loneliness definitely just takes a toll. And especially in doing this podcast learning, since COVID, it just kind of, everybody is on this whole different path and such trying to rebuild that foundation. Yeah. And the surgeon general issued their report last year around this whole thing as a real crisis that we're in. So it's a big deal. And I think wherever we can find our pockets and where we can both serve as well as be served. I mean, as much as I adore my job, I also get to be served in what I do. Absolutely. Which is incredible. So rewarding to help other people. And you grow too. You do, you grow and you appreciate things that maybe you didn't know about before. I know. It's so true. Awesome.