It was an idea that spawned from coffee and donuts. Now Trail Youth Coffee in North Bend is working on becoming a student-run coffee shop to help troubled youth.
A few years ago, Kirsten Zuray, her husband, and a few close friends would get together on a trail outside of North Bend to serve coffee and donuts to homeless and troubled youth.
“We thought we could start by serving them coffee and donuts, break down the barrier, get to know them, and eventually find ways to help them get off the street,” Zuray said.
After helping students on the trail, they found out that a lot of these kids didn’t have a place to go, a place to call home, or a safe place to relax. Zuray and her team applied for a grant to build a coffee shop that would do just that.
Any students can get a free coffee and a place to hang out. Trail Youth Coffee has programs to teach these students different job duties and community relations.
Currently, the coffee shop is run by students only during the afternoon hours. They hope to be fully staffed by students only as soon as possible.
