I was one of the first patrons at 12 Baskets Café. I had been recently homeless and on my own in that area in 2017 and had heard it was starting from Word of Mouth. While I am able to feed myself without the café, I am a regular patron who goes to eat and break bread with others. I wish I could say that I helped lay the bricks, that I washed dishes, served, or cleaned regularly. I don't. It's my designated useless space.

I know many of the unhoused people in my community on a first name basis and have for years. I have associates and people I don't see eye to eye with. But as a whole, I feel so much safer in my community having those personal connections. I know that if I am the victim of a crime, that there are dozens more people who have my back and have constant eyes on everything happening around them. I know that if I have a little too much of something, such as shoes or catering event leftovers, I have people I can share that with. I have people that keep me grounded around accumulation and being content with the things I do have in this world. I also have a few older women who would beat the crap out of somebody for me if I ever needed it.

The Cafe: A Place of Abundance and Belonging

Twelve Baskets Cafe is a place where people from all walks of life come together to share meals and stories. It's a place where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their background or circumstances.

As Joshua, one of the cafe's regulars, puts it, "Twelve Baskets is a place where we come because there is an abundance. We're just operating in a system that doesn't get it... how Jesus inspired folks to pull from their pockets and share when everybody did that there was so much everybody had their fill and then we're still 12 baskets left over."

The cafe is a place where people can come together and feel a sense of belonging. As Paris West, one of the cafe's organizers, says, "We came on an orientation day and heard about the goal of this organization as being equals serving equals... that we all have something to share and we all have something to learn."

The cafe is also a place where people can come to find community and support. As one of the cafe's regulars, Marge, says, "I wondered whether it worked but I now I know it's it's phenomenal. It's a kind of model that could be taken nationwide and anyone seeing this like oh I wish could do that in my neighborhood who can... it's really it's easy."

The cafe is open to everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances. As Andy, one of the cafe's organizers, says, "We want to create a space where everyone feels welcome and valued. We want to create a space where people can come together and feel like they belong."

The cafe is a place where people can come together and feel a sense of community. As one of the cafe's regulars, Donna, says, "I was just married... I come here a lot and I want to be here. It's not because just the need because I get it filled when I come here also."

The cafe is a place where people can come together and feel a sense of compassion and love. As Joshua, one of the cafe's regulars, says, "I think this is the greatest... Twelve Baskets is a place where all those socio-economic divisions and barriers that divide us day in and day out as human beings suddenly falls down and people open up to a whole new way of being together in compassion and love and that is what for me is a kingdom moment."