Frisky Business Palm Springs Cat Cafe Recognized For Community Contributions

Frisky Business Palm Springs Cat Cafe has been recognized by the State of California for its community contributions.

In particular for its paid internship opportunities the business provides to individuals with disabilities.

Claire Rogers and Sonny Van Cleveland, the owners of the Cafe tell us, when they first started building the business, a place where neighbors can both grab a bite to eat and have the opportunity to play with or potentially adopt a cat at the same time, they wanted to ensure that the cafe would be an ADA compliant business.

“We are committed to hiring individuals with disabilities but we needed funding to be able to help us upgrade our premises with ADA compliant espresso machines, machinery etc.” Rogers says.

Last August, they were granted a business grant to help fund the cafe and the community, while being committed to hiring individuals with disabilities.

Just over six months later, everything from their seating to the tools in the cafe had been modified for use by all individuals, especially for individuals with disabilities.

“We have designed it for ease of use and implementation so that we can focus more on building the skills and the ability to utilize the equipment as opposed to having to learn, you know, little ins and outs that you would normally have to use for people that don’t have a disability.” Van Cleveland adds.

For this continued effort, earlier this week they received statewide recognition by the California Department of Rehabilitation.

Through their mission, they’ve been able to hire Abigail Simoens, who is just finishing up her first internship at the cat cafe.

“I looked up what it was like to get a job with my particular disability when I was 18. I’m 26 now, and I lost hope, honestly, because it was pretty bad out there, and this is my first job ever. So it means everything.” Simeons says.

She says, the business’s modifications on tools like the espresso machine have helped make her internship more enjoyable, “Our espresso machine is amazing. There are less buttons. They’re easily marked. The machine is really easy to use. It’s good for me and it would be good for people who have a harder time processing things.” 

Overall, this new opportunity has helped her gain a new found confidence.

“It’s given me more confidence and independence in a way where I didn’t used to have. I’ve never felt more comfortable and happy and I have since I started working here.”

Now, Rodgers and Van Cleveland tell us they hope to continue to hire new interns throughout the rest of the year, in addition to hiring Abigail for a full time position after her four month internship is over.