For People with Disabilities, the GET Cafe Is Community: A Place with No Stares or Glares
Seven miles outside of Philadelphia lies the borough of Narberth, PA, a community known for having many small independent businesses, some family owned for several generations. But in 2019, a noteworthy addition was added: Brooke Goodspeed established the GET Cafe, where over 50 people with disabilities work. Their ages range from 16 to 60.
Goodspeed, 45, emphasized that launching GET did not happen overnight. “It took four years.”
Her desire to launch GET derived from frustrating circumstances. When Goodspeed learned that her second son, Oliver, had Down Syndrome, Autism, and was nonspeaking, she thought that she would be able to get invaluable assistance from government and community programs — but she was wrong. She mistakenly assumed this because she had worked as a nurse, and helped numerous cancer patients. She saw firsthand the resources for cancer patients.
“If people came to me who were recently diagnosed with cancer, I could connect them to support groups for new cancer patients. There were support groups for young kids; support groups for adults.”
Goodspeed continued, “When I had Oliver 13 years ago, I naively thought that a strong advocacy also existed for people with disabilities,” said Goodspeed. “Disability is a more common natural part of human life. Not everybody will have cancer, but almost all of us will [develop disabilities] as we go through aging.”
She wondered why there were 5K races for cancer awareness, and why cancer patients could get cleaning staff and vacation homes, while these benefits were non-existent for people with disabilities. “The same support and awareness did not exist for the disability community,” said Goodspeed. “When I saw that disparity, I was motivated to help close that gap. The support and engagement is an important piece of managing a life-changing diagnosis.”
What added to Goodspeed’s frustration was that she knew how to navigate the healthcare system and had a network of support and resources available to her. She also had a Ph.D. in nursing. Despite these advantages, she and her husband Jon still had trouble finding the 24/7 care that Oliver needed. She wondered what that meant for other families who had children like Oliver, but lacked the advantages that she and Jon had.
These circumstances compelled Brooke Goodspeed to establish a nonprofit organization, GET Included, in 2015. Originally, GET Included consisted of just one room about 500 feet wide. Activities there included support groups and art classes, but more importantly, it was a place for people with disabilities to feel safe enough to be themselves.
Brooke and Jon wanted that for Oliver because when they took him to parks and playgrounds, other people sometimes gave them stares and glares. They wanted a place for him without hostility. Brooke added that establishing GET Included was about “…supporting Oliver through adulthood, because the reality is I will probably die before he does. So building a community to protect and support him was the driving reason behind this.”
Shortly after forming GET Included, she noticed numerous adults with disabilities frequented the place and most of them were unemployed. That sparked her drive to create a coffee shop where these people could work and feel like productive members of society. And four years later, it happened — February 14, 2019.
Paul Argenio, 38, of Wynnewood, PA is one of the cafe's employees. To date, working at GET is Argenio’s favorite job. After he graduated from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, PA, in 2003, he got a job bagging groceries and putting shopping carts away at Genuardi’s in Wynnewood, Pa. (That store is now Giant.) He worked there from 2003-2006. Then from 2006-2019, he was unemployed.
Paul’s mother, Mai Argenio, remembers that it was a tough time for him. “He stayed home, played video games, and was bored,” said Mai Argenio.
Paul Argenio has Klinefelter Syndrome, a condition in which males are born with an extra x chromosome. Symptoms include difficulty learning to crawl, sit up, walk, and talk. “I can’t stand for a long time,” said Paul Argenio. His disabilities never prevented him from becoming a GET barista and cook. Before he worked at GET, he never imagined that he would learn to do these things.
GET hired him in 2019.
“Paul is a tremendous asset,” said Olivia Kinder, GET’s human resource advisor and shift supervisor. “One thing you should know about Paul is that he.’s very good at anticipating the needs of the senior staff. He’s very good at recognizing what needs to get done; he will take the initiative.” She elaborated that besides knowing that he will make a fantastic latte, cappuccino, macchiato, cortado, and other types of drinks, the staff can count on him to restock items, take out the trash, and close the cafe without being reminded.
Although Paul Argenio wears many GET Cafe hats, his favorite is the barista’s. Asked why, he answered: “I like to serve people; I like to talk to them.”
To learn more about GET, visit their website: www.GETincluded.org
I am a legally blind freelance reporter and documentary producer/director. I have made eight documentaries, many of which focused on people with disabilities facing adversity. Some of my films won film festival awards and were televised. I earned my Masters' in Journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia in 2017.
