In Business: Kaffe Havn Serves Coffee With A Purpose

Kaffe Havn is a local family-owned business in Walker that opened in 2009 which provides ways to employ residents living with persistent mental illness and have a difficulty maintain successful employment in the community.

“At that time, I was the executive manager over at Stille Havn Hos, which is a long-term adult foster care with folks with mental health issues, and we were looking for a vocational opportunity for a lot of our folks who didn’t have other opportunities in the community for employments, and we created Kaffe Havn as a vocational opportunity for our folks over there,” said owner Alex Rogen.

Kaffe Havn offers specialty coffees to restaurants, grocery stores and anyone wanting to make a purchase. But this coffee business offers more than just coffee: it offers “coffee with a purpose.”

“And everybody needs a purpose, a reason to get out of bed, something to look forward to, something to get excited about, and really, Kaffe Havn provides that for our residents. They come over here and they work they get fun coffee breaks with their friends, and earn extra money, and ultimately is really helpful to them,” said manager Emily Rogen.

Most of the employees who work at Kaffe Havn live right across the street at Stille Havn Hos. The business says the like to provide this opportunity as a way for the employees to earn money and see them having fun doing it – plus, it’s good coffee. Each employee is assigned a job for the day, which makes the coffee making process fun, interactive and exciting.

“Putting on Christmas tags, putting on kinds of coffee labels,” said employee Mark Hegle.

“We’re all responsible and we’re always careful how we bag up coffee and stuff, and I like working here because it’s a lot of fun,” said employee Mary Burnette.

“And it’s good, too, I can make a little money,” added employee Mary Lavalier.

The lack of jobs that are offered and equipped to those who have mental health issues are either limited or not available in one’s community. But one statement that still remains true is that those who suffer from an illness are people first, and that’s something that Kaffe Havn recognizes.