蜜桃影视

Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. 

It came last summer in a white envelope she couldn鈥檛 wait to open. Hillary Barber, 29, had already interviewed for a position at a soon-to-open coffee house in Sleepy Hollow, 45 minutes north of Manhattan, but didn鈥檛 know if she earned a spot. 

A witty and tenacious young woman with a megawatt smile, Barber has cerebral palsy, a condition that limits her mobility and makes it difficult for her to speak. Like so many other developmentally disabled adults across the country 鈥� and, particularly, in 鈥� she had trouble finding work after she graduated from high school in 2013 at age 19. 

That letter, she hoped, could change everything.

鈥淚t is with great pleasure that I extend the following employment offer to you,鈥� read the invitation from the nonprofit Sleepy Coffee, Too, founded by former special education teacher Kim Kaczmarek.  

鈥淚鈥檓 so happy,鈥� Barber told an aide that night. 鈥淢y life is complete.鈥�

It would mark Barber鈥檚 first-ever paid work, an enormous victory for a young woman who was too often underestimated: Just were employed in 2022, up from 19.1% the year before, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those without a disability, the figure was 65.4% in 2022, up from 63.7 percent the prior year.

A smaller offshoot of what will soon be Sleepy Coffee, Too 鈥� called The Little Shop of Coffee and Dry Goods 鈥� opened in a cozy 700-square-foot storefront in June 2023, employing Barber and 16 other adults with developmental disabilities. Kaczmarek, 64, came out of retirement to open the store, staking $125,000 of her own money on the venture.

Many of her employees are her former students. The staff is devoted 鈥� they ask their families to reschedule vacations and other outings around their shifts 鈥� and eager to take on the working world鈥檚 challenges. That exposure has greatly improved their communication skills. 

鈥淚 had some kids who were virtually nonverbal who are now some of my best customer service employees,鈥� Kaczmarek said. 鈥淭hey found their voice.鈥�

As the employees are growing, so is the business. Sleepy Coffee, Too is poised to move to an adjacent downtown location in the next few months that will double its size and allow the shop to expand its hours. 

On a recent rainy Sunday afternoon, customer traffic was slow but employee Maggie Collier, 21, was ready to help anyone who walked through the door. Sitting behind the counter, she spent the afternoon brewing coffee and refilling the store鈥檚 milk, sugar, sweeteners, cups, stirrers and napkins. 

The store, neatly stocked with all manner of coffee, is packed with other items, too, including books written by and on behalf of disabled adults and sold by the family of a Long Island man with Down syndrome. 

A mannequin in the left-hand corner models a brown zippered sweatshirt and baseball cap emblazoned with the store鈥檚 logo while a waist-high display case offers cookies and granola Like many of its coffee house competitors, the store鈥檚 walls and shelves are adorned with signs bearing cheeky messages like, 鈥淓spresso Yourself.鈥�

Collier, who learned of the shop through her father鈥檚 friend, the also now-retired schools superintendent in neighboring Tarrytown and Kaczmarek鈥檚 former boss, is eager for the new space to open. An avid baker, she鈥檚 excited about adding snacks to the menu.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to working with more customers in a larger coffee shop,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I like working with people my age. I like taking initiative.鈥� 

Dreams of a coffee shop during COVID

Kaczmarek has long known her students had a hard time beating employment odds. The pandemic made their plight even more difficult. During that dark time, the former teacher鈥檚 heart would break when she saw her former students on the streets of this Hudson River village that鈥檚 home to Washington Irving鈥檚 legends, the headless horseman and Ichabod Crane. 

Their regression was stark, Kaczmarek said. Young people whom she coached for years to meet her gaze and engage in polite conversation were now averting their eyes. The educator didn鈥檛 want further isolation to undermine any more of her 鈥� or her students鈥� 鈥� good work. But she didn鈥檛 immediately know how to help. 

The teacher reflected on the successful coffee cart she and her students opened 鈥� she used it to help them learn about operating a small business and to fundraise for their field trips 鈥� in her district鈥檚 administrative office in 2016 and how it grew even more popular at the high school. 

Neurotypical students designed and helped build a cart complete with display cases, lights and locking wheels. Students and staff proved devoted patrons: Sleepy Coffee鈥檚 brownies would sell out in minutes each morning.

鈥淭here was a respect toward my students that had never been there before,鈥� Kaczmarek recalled. 鈥淚 think it really changed the culture of school.鈥�

She remembered how members of the football team would high-five her kids as they passed each other in the hall. Kaczmarek鈥檚 classroom was in the main hallway and her students were highly visible.

鈥淭he more they were out doing things that everyone else did, it made not just the students, but the staff realize we are more the same than different,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey want to have friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, to be invited to places. It took the stigma away. It became normal. The other students got it very quickly.鈥�

But how could she translate that sense of fairness and inclusion to the outside world? Would the general public have the same goodwill? Sure, she had seen it done before. But it had been decades.

Helping Adam

Kaczmarek was 11 years old when a developmentally disabled boy was born to a family across the street in her hometown of Briarcliff Manor, just north of Sleepy Hollow. This was the 1960s, an era when many such children were immediately sent off to live in institutions, often at the . 

Not Adam. 

His family wanted to keep him close, but they couldn鈥檛 care for him alone. So, they invited friends and family to work and play with him each day in shifts.

鈥淗is mother had a big schedule in the house and people signed up and were given fast training,鈥� said Kaczmarek, who was among the volunteers. 

Back then, she said, the favored technique was 鈥減atterning,鈥� a series of exercises meant to help children with neurological impairments. That, and trying to build Adam鈥檚 gross motor skills. 

鈥淚t really had an impact on me, watching my neighborhood come together like that,鈥� Kaczmarek said. 鈥淚t was an incredible time.鈥�

And it taught her a lesson that would become her mantra. 

鈥淭here is always a way to solve any problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen people work together, miracles can happen.鈥�

鈥業t turned out to be good鈥�

Kaczmarek went on to earn a bachelor鈥檚 in special education from Syracuse University and a master鈥檚 from Fordham. Adam eventually became one of her students. 

She hoped 鈥� if she could only figure out how 鈥� to generate the same support for her former students today, and approached them to gauge their interest in opening a brick-and-mortar coffee shop. They were elated at the thought. 

Kaczmarek inherited the $125,000 seed money from her parents and remembered what her father told her just before he died: Don鈥檛 wait too long to do whatever it is you want to do with the rest of your life.

She鈥檚 then raised an additional $200,000 through grants, donations and fundraising and she鈥檚 always looking for more to add staff and expand their hours. 

Adam鈥檚 sister, Kaczmarek鈥檚 friend since childhood, grew up to run a successful coffee shop of her own and has become a valuable mentor. And another friend in the community alerted Kaczmarek to the bigger spot her shop will soon occupy: It was abandoned and available for rent at a reasonable price. 

Kaczmarek鈥檚 students have been working on the project for well more than a year, meeting at first through Zoom and then in person as they opened the first storefront. 

鈥淭hey are stimulated every day. They have an obligation. They are part of a business,鈥� she said. 

Jake Loerker, 24, worked at a movie theater taking tickets, handing out snacks and vacuuming the floor before he landed at the Beekman Avenue shop, where he mostly handles money. 

鈥淵ou know what?鈥� he said of Sleepy Coffee, Too. 鈥淚t turned out to be good. The customers are friendly.鈥�

Elvira Juarez, who worked as Kaczmarek鈥檚 teaching assistant, serves on the nonprofit鈥檚 board of directors and whose child is among the shop鈥檚 employees, has watched her 31-year-old daughter blossom as her involvement with the coffee shop grew. So excited about work, she prepares for her shift days in advance. 

鈥淥n Thursday and Friday, she鈥檚 always getting her uniform ready even though it’s not until two days after,鈥� Juarez said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always making sure it鈥檚 clean.鈥� 

Hillary Barber, the young woman who got her first paying job at 29 and who uses adaptive technology to communicate, treats her job with the same dedication. 

Though it was a challenge, she was determined to operate the register from her wheelchair and after a few modifications to the store, she did just that. Janis, her mother and herself retired special education teacher, is grateful that Kaczmarek gave her daughter a chance. 

鈥淪he is definitely smart,鈥� the mother said of Hillary. 鈥淪he picks up things quickly. But this was really her first opportunity to work. I鈥檓 so grateful for Kim.鈥�

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