WESTBOROUGH – It’s a few minutes before the grand opening on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and the staff at Ben’s Beans gathered for a pep talk and final instructions.
Today’s menu – hot and iced coffee, hot tea, and a variety of donated pastries from Yummy Mummy. Some will host while others will prepare and serve.
Ben’s Beans is the latest employment training program offered by Post 22, which provides training and employment for adults with disabilities who have aged out of special education and other services.
“We’ve done a lot of training,” said Alli, a member of Post 22. “It’s important to train before you get a restaurant job.”
For Alli, Ben (the son of Post 22 founder Christine Simpson and for whom the shop is named) and the rest of the adults in Post 22, the new venture is another opportunity to work.
The coffee shop occupies one corner of Post 22, which is located on the second floor of a building at 1300 Union St., between Roche Bros. and the community center.
The space includes room for computers, work space, meetings, and an area where parents and caregivers can drop off and pick up. Simpson conducted tours of the facility, starting with the computer learning lab. This is where the members of Post 22 build resumes and learn vocational skills.
Time is set aside to work on projects supplied by the post’s 12 sponsors, including Cold Harbor and Amazon. The tables and other equipment were donated by C.P. Lauman Corp.
Also, “the adults have three-five internships per week” at businesses outside the post, said Simpson.
The Post 22 adults also take part in social and recreational activities.
Ben’s Beans will open one Wednesday per month, toward the end of the day (around 2 p.m.). The shop will run on a donation basis.
For information about Post 22 and the programs it offers, visit https://www.post-22.com/, or https://www.facebook.com/Post22TrainingandEmployment/
