The Pup-n-Cup Cafe located at 2101 43 Street in Vernon is due to open on August 1.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Elizabeth Eckert

An artsy café opening in Vernon this summer will be operated by residents with diverse abilities as part of a broader movement for inclusivity.

The Pup-n-Cup Café is not only a space for enjoying coffee and snacks, it aims to bring a sense of belonging to those with unique challenges and provide them with employment.

“It’s all freshly painted, it looks nice, we’re working on our signage right now,” said den and café owner Elizabeth Eckert.

Eckert is the mother of Anakin Suerink, who lives with autism and is legally blind. He is the co-owner, visionary and motivation behind the new, unique hub he inspired after completing four years raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Suerink wasn't available for comment at the time of the interview. 

“Anakin is 23 and he spent many years going through employment programs learning job and resume skills, but no one would hire him,” Eckert said. "It’s terrible. It isn’t only him, there are about 40 of his core group and the majority do not have employment and have been unable to get it.”

Eckert said having employment is particularly important for those with diverse abilities, as they are an oppressed group, but while businesses offer job positions claiming to be accessible and free from discrimination, it isn’t what she has seen over the years.

“The diverse ability demographic doesn’t get the jobs,” she said. “A lot of them down in their core don’t feel they belong and if someone gives them a job, they think it’s out of pity. They feel they don’t have value, so when they have employment, they feel part of mainstream society.”

Suerink was able to secure a job for two hours per week where he has been working for over a year. Eckert credits his success to his charismatic personality. 

Vernon resident Anakin Suerink is pictured on a bench in a park in Vernon in January.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Elizabeth Eckert

At the den and café, business will operate much differently than the societal norm. Eckert and her diverse team created a list of tasks required to run the café and a roster of employees that will work together to complete them.

“The employees don’t have to have a rigid skill set,” she said. “Anakin can make a cup of coffee but can’t safely hand it to the customer because he can’t see. We’re making roles where each person does the task they can do and hands it to the next person.” 

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The den and café will be accessible for everyone, something Eckert and her son have observed is lacking in the city.

“We have a menu online and an ordering system where people who are non speaking can come in and order and it goes to our screens,” she said. “It helps people who have trouble making orders or have social anxiety. Typically, their workers have to order for them or they just don’t go to cafes.

“Anakin and his support worker went to every café in Vernon to see what level of accessibility was offered and only in three places could he make an order on his own because there was nothing visible enough. Also, a lot of places have steps and can’t be accessed by a wheelchair.”

Suerink is mostly blind and uses a cane he sweeps back and forth to understand his environment as he walks. There are too many barriers in the city for him to walk alone. 

“When they have those sawhorse barriers on the sidewalk his cane can’t pick them up until the cane goes through the hole,” Eckert said. “He doesn’t know its there and when he hits the barrier he wipes out.”

Art is an important piece of the hub, with projects planned to foster and explore community, inclusion and self. Completed works will be displayed in the café including some pieces from local artists.  

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The Pup-n-Cup Café got its name because Eckert is a dog trainer, the family all loves dogs, and the hub is located in the same building as a dog training centre. So far, Eckert has not made it past health regulations to permit dogs coming into the café, however she will be selling dog training supplies there. 

Connected to the Pup-n-Cup Café, the Diversity Den Society operated by Eckert is opening at the same time, where people with diverse abilities can get support with digital literacy, job searching and other helpful resources.

The hub is located at 2101 43rd St in Browns Transport Building and is expected to open on August 1, and will be open to the public five days a week to start.

Go here for more information on Diversity Den Society, to make a donation or to follow along on the hub's progress. 

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