Interview with representative Ando Kiyoko
We spoke with Ando Kiyoko, representative of certified NPO Step, which runs Usagi Cafe.
Aiming to be “a place you can go right away when you’re worried”
Could you tell us about the concept behind Usagi Cafe?
Ando (surname only)
It is a cafe-style place for consultation, for parents and families of children and adults with disabilities, and children whose development is a source of concern.
We are open twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and once a month on a Sunday or public holiday.
Before starting Usagi Cafe, we held consultation sessions about one to three times a month. But when there are so few days, if you’re unavailable that day, you can’t get advice, right?
Also, I think there are days when people come, but then leave without being able to talk about their concerns. But if there’s a long gap before the next consultation session, another concern may come up, and they may forget what they wanted to discuss at the first session.
Unless the underlying concern is resolved, it could have harmful effects later on, like pus building up in a wound.
That’s why I wanted to create a place parents could go right away when they had a concern, and started Usagi Cafe.
There are various formats for consultation services. Was there a reason you chose to operate in a cafe format?
Ando
Sometimes a person who comes in for a consultation in the morning gets really engrossed in the conversation and thinks, “I want to keep talking!” But then lunchtime comes, and when you get hungry, you have to leave for a while. I thought that was a waste of time. So I started this, thinking that if people could eat here too, they could keep talking.
When we were first setting up Step, we staff members sometimes worked through lunchtime. Back then, I would make lunch boxes for everyone and bring them in. It really put everyone at ease.
I feel that serving food at the cafe also helps create a better atmosphere.
People make eye contact with someone they don’t know while eating the daily lunch and say, “This is delicious,” and a conversation starts. Seeing parents chatting away with each other makes me think that food plays a role in bringing people together.
We also carefully prepare each item on the cafe menu for parents.
That’s because parents’ lunches often end up being leftovers from dinner or leftover lunch-box food.
Since parents are usually focused on their children, on the days they come to Usagi Cafe, we want to give them our very best hospitality as fellow parents.
Always there as an ally to parents and caregivers
What are the benefits of receiving consultation support from a parent of a child with the same disability, rather than from a specialist?
Ando
People can’t help but feel apprehensive when consulting an education or welfare specialist.
Also, many such specialists tend to talk about children and adults with disabilities, or children whose development is a source of concern, as the focus. But we make the parent the focus of our conversations.
“What do you want to do?” “What are you worried about?” Our strength is that we make the parent the focus and can be their ally.
Also, since our staff have been through the same experiences, people often feel able to speak frankly about their weaknesses.
We believe that a parent’s happiness has a major impact on a child’s happiness and self-esteem. So we make the parent the focus and engage with them as a person to talk to, not as an adviser.
Do many people come with a topic they want to discuss from their first visit?
Ando
It’s been more than 10 years since we started operating Usagi Cafe, and Step has held various events, so more people now come to us knowing what kind of organization we are. As a result, many people open up to our staff about their concerns right away.
From their second visit onward, people come to enjoy chatting or spending time with other parents of children with disabilities, and talk with us whenever they have concerns or worries.
Of course, some people don’t say much at all and just listen to other visitors’ conversations. But I think most people who make the effort to come to Usagi Cafe have some kind of purpose.
So we talk to them as peers, asking things like, “How have you been lately?” Then many people start talking, saying, “Actually, I’ve been worried about this…”
You can come for a consultation, enjoy lunch on your own, or spend time with other parents of children with disabilities.
We want you to feel comfortable during your time here.
After more than 10 years of operation, do visitors keep coming back?
Ando
When we first started Usagi Cafe, most of the visitors’ children were “children with disabilities.” As those children have grown up, more of our visitors are now parents of “adults with disabilities.”
However, they don’t keep coming every week.
Some people return after going through a period when they didn’t have the time or energy to come to Usagi Cafe. Others didn’t need Usagi Cafe for a while, but then found they had something they wanted to discuss again when their child started school or began working. People use the cafe in many different ways.
But because Usagi Cafe continues to be here, more people are realizing that it truly functions as a place to belong—a place they can think, “I’ll go again,” when they need it.
We set out to be “a place you can go right away when you’re worried,” so that makes me happy.
A place with peers and friends
When providing consultation support, do staff ever find it emotionally difficult?
Ando
The secretary-general, Ms. Ishikawa, and I aren’t the type to dwell on things much, and we also share with the other staff the consultations we handled that day after closing. Having a place to share means we can talk about the difficult feelings too.
Oh, and the Usagi Cafe staff do a lot of chatting.
That’s because we, too, are fellow parents raising children and adults with disabilities. We talk openly about all kinds of things—not just consultations, but each other’s parenting, caregiving, and pets.
We work as staff members who are peers and friends, raising children of similar ages with the same disabilities, so I don’t think any one person ends up feeling overwhelmed.
After 10 years, we want to make this place available to those who need it
After running Usagi Cafe for more than 10 years, are there any challenges?
Ando
Last year, the number of visitors declined.
Of course, if parents of children and adults with disabilities, or children whose development is a source of concern, have places where they can get advice without us setting up consultation sessions, that would be ideal. It is a good thing when a support service has fulfilled its role.
But the reality is that fewer parents of preschool-aged children are using our service. In other words, although some parents continue to come here, we believe there is a strong possibility that our activities are still not well known to parents who have only recently been told by a medical institution that their child has a disability or developmental delay.
So I think we need to come up with new plans ourselves, such as events and workshops, and rethink how we provide consultations.
We also provide a consultation support service on the first Wednesday of every month at the “☆Hayashima Wednesday Market☆,” held at the Hayashima Town Tourist Center. Some people find it physically easier to come to Hayashima Town than to Usagi Cafe, while others stop by for a casual chat and consultation when they come to see the handmade goods being sold at the same time. This makes us feel there is a need for it.
We are currently considering ways to provide consultations regardless of location, such as online or by phone.
We want to lower the barriers to coming for a consultation and be a place that more people who need us can use.
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Ando
It can feel daunting to go somewhere unfamiliar. You can start by exchanging a few messages through our official LINE account if you like.
We’ll give everyone who comes a warm welcome, so I hope you’ll find the courage to visit.
Also, although this is a “cafe,” you don’t have to order food or drinks.
You can come just for a consultation or for a short visit, so please feel free to stop by.
We sincerely look forward to welcoming our fellow parents.
From the Writer
I used to teach in the kindergarten department of a special needs school.
The three-year-old class was attended by children with their mothers, and the school had a parents’ waiting room for parents of children in the kindergarten department.
The reason it was set up was that parents needed a place to gather and talk things over with one another.
As at Usagi Cafe, teachers did not join them in the room. In that space where parents spent time together, they called each other by their first names, shared hobbies, and, of course, opened up about their concerns regarding their children’s therapy and education.
Some parents who had seemed low-spirited when they arrived at school would spend time in the parents’ room and return to the classroom in good spirits at the end of the day. I was reminded every day of how important time with peers can be.
When a child with a disability or developmental concerns attends a regular class at a kindergarten, nursery school, or elementary school, it can be difficult for parents to find a place where they can talk with one another. That’s why I think places like Usagi Cafe are valuable.
Since many of the staff have children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, it seems that many parents in similar situations gather here. However, parents of children with physical disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments, are also very welcome.
This is a place that I hope parents of children and adults with disabilities, and children whose development is a source of concern, will know about—as a source of comfort for all kinds of people, including those who have such parents around them or who may themselves become affected in the future.
Usagi Cafe details
| Name | Usagi Cafe |
|---|---|
| Address | 2463-6 Shinden, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-431-1651 |
| Parking | None |
| Hours | 10 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Closed | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday Open only once a month on Sundays |
| Payment methods |
|
| Website | Certified NPO Parent Support Step |
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