The Trail Youth Coffee House

Sadly, a 2013 Seattle PI article “Which King County Community has the highest suicide rate” noted that the communities of Snoqualmie and North Bend have the highest suicide rate out of 25 communities.    Hundreds of youth in this community struggle with homelessness, drug addiction, lack of support at home, setting and reaching academic goals, and understanding their personal value and worth.    The Trail Youth is a 501c3  non-profit established to address these critical issues. 

Why a coffee house?  The Trail Youth first presented itself in the Snoqualmie Valley in October 2016 at a community forum on teen homelessness. Several local resources attended. These groups expressed concerns over the holes in resources as well as barriers for youth to access what is available. The Trail Youth proposed being the conduit between the youth and local services. This is accomplished by meeting the youth in their space- out on the trail- and providing hot coffee and donuts to engage them. This outreach then facilitates trust as the youth feel safe to express themselves and share their stories. Once a relationship is established, the outreach workers can begin plugging the kids into resources.

The youth need a safe place!  Our goal is to be a trusted community safe place that is known for empowering youth and decreasing the impact of trauma.  Safety leads to connection and connection leads to learning. We will do this by creating a youth coffee shop in which they will be able to receive the following:

Mentoring:
-  Provide quality mentorship training 
-  Create personalized vision statements for the mentee with the end goal of job training     or academic success.
-   Identify and teach individualized positive coping strategies
-  Connect mentees with mentors who share the same interests and experiences
 -   Guide the mentee in creating their own path for success by helping them identify the issues that may hinder them from their goals. 
 
Connections With: 
-  Drug and alcohol rehab centers
-  Counseling and social services 
-  Resources for basic needs such as food banks and teen closet (clothing) 
-  Social support such as churches, clubs, etc.
-  Local businesses for job trainings and internships


We are looking to raise $25,000  to fund the coffee house.  The money will go towards first year's rent, insurance, and supplies.  The pictures on gofundme are  of the promising location that we are currently working to get.  If this site does not work, we will be using the funds on another nearby site. 

We are looking to raise the funds needed by October 1, 2017, with a hopeful move in date of December 2017. 

Would you consider investing in the lives of youth that need our support? 

Thank you!

The Trail Youth Board