Programs
Something about going back to prison for the fifth time changed everything for Vicky. She learned about FareStart while incarcerated. A friend was going through FareStart’s job training program, which was adapted from in-person to virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic
During her first week of FareStart’s Barista & Customer Service training program, Keeyshonna (she/her) kept her camera off and her answers blunt. As classmates introduced themselves, she wasn’t sure if or how she would benefit from opening up about painful turning points in her life.
Then her mindset started to shift
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A New Era for Transforming Lives
FareStart is at a critical turning point in its history. With new leadership in CEO Patrick D’Amelio, exciting plans in the works, and a renewed focus on transformative job training programs that can grow to serve more students than ever, we are working to build back our organization
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CONTENT WARNING: FareStart graduate Corey’s powerful story, written in his own words, includes references to gun violence and suicide that might distress some readers.
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Did you know that FareStart is more than a nonprofit organization? We’re a nonprofit social enterprise that’s focused on job training and employment. This means that we run social enterprise businesses to generate revenue for our mission and to train people with barriers to employment.
Charles’ (he/him) aunt had been encouraging him to come to Seattle and apply to FareStart for years, but it wasn’t until he passed out from heat stroke on a job in Dallas and spent a month in the hospital that he realized he needed to make a change. He took his last $500, bought a ticket to Seattle and applied to one of
Youth and young adults ages 15 ½-24 in our Barista & Customer Service Program Job Readiness Pathway have returned to in-person training, three years after the COVID pandemic forced a shift to online-only
Michael’s career path took a decidedly positive turn last summer, when he joined the first group of students welcomed back into our kitchens for in-person job training since the pandemic began.
For the first several weeks, training focused on empowerment and employment
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Jesse (he/him) was initially introduced to the kitchen early in his life when he would observe and assist his mother in making cakes and pies. It was there that he developed an appreciation for cooking.
Though incarcerated at a young age, his passion for food and learning about cooking did not waiver while in prison, in fact, it only
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July 11, 2022, will go down as a big day in FareStart’s history. After exactly 28 months and eight days without students onsite due to the pandemic, we welcomed back students for in-person training.
It took many months of preparation, but staff was full of joy and excitement when the first seven in-person adult students
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