Fishers Cafe Helps People with Disabilities Find Independence

FISHERS, Ind. — You might not expect to find a bustling coffee shop inside a children’s therapy clinic, but in Fishers, that fully operational cafe is changing lives.  

The One Day Cafe, which is inside Kids Innovative Developmental Services (KIDSinc), serves customers coffee, but its real mission is far more special. It’s the training ground for the nonprofit Together Employability Aims for More (TEAM), helping people with disabilities, aged 14 through adulthood, gain vital job skills.  

Many people with disabilities face the “cliff,” which is a sudden stop to support services after high school graduation.  

TEAM founder Shelly King, who is also the president of KIDSinc, established the program to teach skills like budgeting, inventory, assembly, and customer services. King says that the goal is deeper than just making coffee.  

“Really, we’re looking to teach them the confidence to apply for any job that they go into,” King said on Inside Indiana Business.  

For participants like Avery, who was having her first day of hands-on training, the benefits are clear. Avery said on Inside Indiana Business that the people at One Day Cafe are “lovely and nice,” and King talked about the dramatic change in her demeanor.  

“She was so quiet and since she’s been here, her confidence, her sense of purpose… has grown so much,” King said.  

The coffee shop is open to the public just off I-69 and 96 Street. King is already planning to expand the training opportunities by adding a modified grocery store to the clinic.