By Stephanie Mancini
Published in March 2009
The Queen Street Commons Café is the kind of place that fits the description by Tony Hiss in The Experience of Place; the blending of people from all walks of life, of simple food shared among friends, of music, of conversation, and of the fostering of reciprocal relationships.
Ken Westhues describes reciprocity as “an ongoing relationship in which the parties talk and listen to one another in turn, each responding to the other so that what actually happens is genuinely new, beyond what anybody could have decided in advance.”
In a recent article written by a St. Jerome’s student who is volunteering at The Working Centre, she describes how surprising these encounters can be.
“I’ll admit I’ve never been a really good listener. I drift in and out of conversations…. But The Working Centre is all about communication and interaction. It breaks you out of your comfort zone, and places you in a situation where you need to learn in order to make the interaction work. …But the more I sit in The Queen Street Commons Café, the less I want to tell you about my experiences, and the more I want to tell the stories that I hear, and learn through my time spent there.”
There are many stories that are shared between people who might not otherwise meet – downtown office workers, men and women who live through the winter months at Out-of-the-Cold and come in for a rest or a coffee, people looking for work who stop by on their way to their appointment, moms and young children, people from the neighbourhood, folks from downtown agencies.
The sharing of stories is only part of the whole fabric of the goings on at the Café. Embedded within the flow of people are outreach workers providing formal and informal connection and support; a housing support person meeting with one of the residents in our housing; meetings between the Psychiatric Outreach workers and the individuals they are supporting; outreach workers from other agencies offering support over a cup of coffee; downtown street outreach workers checking in with people – everyone building strong relationships on which to base their work together.
Sean, an employment counsellor with The Working Centre, told of a morning where he was moving a bit slower than usual as he came out to the Job Search Resource Centre to meet a newly unemployed person to work on a resume. What he noticed right off was the intensity of the stress this man was experiencing, so instead of moving to a computer and working on the resume, he invited the man for a coffee at the Queen Street Commons Café. The coffee and conversation was a welcome diversion for both, and a follow-up meeting was made to work on the resume.
Sometimes the noise in the café overflows with the range of activities going on. People cluster for more formal meetings around the larger back tables, business lunches take place around the café tables, and people meet as they mill around – many new ideas have been cultivated as one person introduces another and serendipitous exchanges take place.
Music is one of the most delightful elements of the café. On the last Friday of each month the New Vibes Jazz Quartet overflows the café with music and people. Wednesday evenings Mark Evans gathers friends to play music, a monthly Open Mike evening draws local songwriters, other local musicians contribute an evening of live music from time to time, the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music performs regular concerts, and many individual piano players drop in to share a few tunes.
Handiwork is celebrated and encouraged – a monthly knitting circle, homemade crafts for sale in the gift shop. Interesting books are for sale and many are available for reading in the back of the café. Items from our Community Tools projects are for sale including hand-made paper, woven rag rugs, soaps, recycled crafts, and more. Barter Fairs fill the space with creativity every month or two.
Evenings and Saturdays can often be filled by activities like a games night, writing workshops, movie nights, etc. Monday evenings hosts Open Space, an evening for people with a disability, their families, friends and others who want to build relationships and get to know others. Thursday evenings host the Speak English Café where New Canadians practice conversational English, explore a variety of cultures, enjoy potlucks, and share laughter and conversation. The WRAP small business program hosts training, info sessions and graduations.
The place is made possible by the many volunteers and youth on work experience projects who share the work. As a Community Tools project, we operate both the Café and Maurita’s Kitchen (which serves up our delicious vegetarian meals) with mainly one staff person, joined by a variety of volunteers. Sometimes we precariously rise to the challenge of the day, and other days we overflow with helpers. Diners might wait a little longer some times, but most approach this with a good spirit.
Some 250 people per day come to the Queen Street Commons Café, sharing culture, conversation, food, and friendships. It’s the kind of place that can have a true impact on the kind of people we are, and the kind of community we like to build.
