Aurora's Newest Coffee Shop Is Combating Homelessness One Cup at a Time

"The model is about giving that person the training and skills to help them overcome those barriers to seek employment," says Cemal Ezel, who founded the London-based Change Please Coffee in 2015 and has since opened locations in eight countries. The award-winning social enterprise provides barista training and employment to homeless individuals, and 100 percent of the profits cycle directly back into its programs and support services.

On October 29, it debuted its second U.S. location, at 2115 Scranton Street in Aurora. The cafe and training facility has glass-paned garage doors, and the space is punctuated with potted plants, pink-hued menus and a bright floral mural.

Along with job training, the Change Please model is equally centered on providing individuals with vital quality-of-life services such as housing support, mental health resources, financial education and further employment opportunities. Ezel says he aims to supply people in need with the skills necessary to build sustainable lives for themselves and to continue on an upward track beyond their experience with Change Please.
Ezel's vision encompasses so much more than simply a steady income. "That one minute it takes to make a coffee is so worth it to see a smile, to help someone feel human again," he notes, emphasizing how that seed of human connection can blossom into the sense of dignity a person needs to bolster their self-confidence. For a customer to recognize the service an employee is giving them, to call them by name and strike up a conversation, provides a sense of validation often withheld from those experiencing homelessness.

On the other side of that interaction, prejudice is steadily broken down, one cup of coffee at a time. At Change Please Coffee, a neutral setting is provided in which a person can comfortably allow their preconceived notions to be challenged and witness firsthand the desire many have for a better life.

Ezel's model for Change Please is targeted at the local populations that are most in need. In Paris, the employees largely comprise women who are victims of sexual assault and subsequently facing shelter crises. In Australia, employment efforts center on the Aboriginal populations that have long faced socioeconomic strife. In Aurora, the staff comprises a group of women who have recently moved on from the Department of Corrections.

Change Please Coffee has plans for growth in Colorado, too, including a Denver location that Ezel hopes to open by January.

Change Please Coffee is located at 2115 Scranton Street in Aurora and is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit changeplease-us.org or follow it on Instagram @changepleaseusa.