âCoffee & Connections is a sanctuaryâ
where safety lives before healing begins.â
We didn't build this to serve coffee. We built it because too many of us found pain before we ever found safety.
Marylou survived trauma inside a system that tried to silence her. Tony almost died at his own hand to show how deeply it was broken.
This space was born from that fireâfrom stories no one wanted to hear, and lives no one cared to try to save.
Where It Started
It started in a car. Tony had been thinking about what life might look like after the Army. His love of coffee sparked an idea: âI should open a coffee shop.â
One day, on the way to or from an intensive group trauma therapy appointment, Marylou said: âWhat if you tied your coffee shop to mental health?â A simple sentence. And an idea was born.
What if we took all the painâall the missed opportunities where someone could've helped usâand turned that original idea into a bridge? A space that caught people before the crisis. A space where saying âI'm not okayâ wasnât a liability... but an opening.
A place where someone who's walked through the fire says: âYou're not alone. We got you.â Even if that means just sitting with them. Listening. Or helping them find the help they need right now.
We're not building a coffee shop. We're building the space we wished we had when we needed it most.
In the military and mental health systems, we saw things we couldn't unseeâpeople discarded, support delayed, and stigma so heavy it made saying âI'm not okayâ feel almost criminal.
So we decided to act. Weâre filling those cracks with cement made from community, understanding, and love. The kind built with open hands, not intake forms. The kind that says: âYour storyâno matter what it is, or where you are in itâis safe here.â
Our Guiding Principles
- â Comfort First: Coffee is a ritualâa warmth offered, not sold. Every cup is a gesture of care.
- đĽ Belonging Before Bureaucracy: We don't need paperwork or forms to welcome you, listen to you, or lend a helping hand. At Coffee & Connections, we see the person, their story, their lived truth.
- đ§ Trauma-Informed Always: From how we greet you to how our chairs are arrangedâwe build with your nervous system in mind.
- đŻ Governance with Heart: We reject hierarchy that harms. Every decision is shaped by shared voice, transparency, and dignity.
- đŽ Joy Is Resistance: Our gaming rooms arenât just for Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons & Dragonsâtheyâre landing pads for laughter, community, and self-expression. Joy isnât a luxury hereâitâs a healing force.
From Anthony:
I tried to die to make someone care.
Now I live to make sure no one feels alone again.
From Marylou:
I survived what never shouldâve happened.
So now I build what never existedâa space that sees the whole person before the crisis.
Together:
This mission was born in painâbut itâs rooted in people.
We built this for you. Not for clicks. Not for praise. But for connection.
If this moved you, you belong in the Founding Circleânot just as a supporter, but as someone who helps hold this ground.
This Is Just the Beginning
We started with survivors and veterans. But we built this for anyone carrying unseen weight. This cafĂŠ is yours, too.
Learn How You Can Join