Reimagining Hope and Hospitality for People With Disabilities 

Words by Sucheta Rawal

Who

Katherine Wolf grew up having a rich and privileged life in Athens, Georgia. She majored in communications with a minor in Christian women’s leadership, got married, moved to California, had a baby, and worked in commercial print modeling. She was “living her dreams, paying the bills, and having a blast,” until one day, her life changed forever. 

Wolf was only 26 years old and in perfect health when she suffered from a massive stroke and nearly died. The doctors said that Wolf had a birth defect which had led to a ruptured blood vessel in her brain. They operated on her for 16 hours. She miraculously survived, but she was left disabled. Thereafter, Wolf spent many years wrestling with herself, questioning why God left her in this condition. She could not eat, walk, or even hold her baby. She often felt like she could not move forward with her life. But then, with the support of her family and friends, she started journaling and sharing her story at churches, stroke associations, and medical events. In that, she found hope in living well within constraints. 

Wolf authored three books: Hope Heals, Suffer Strong and Treasures in The Dark. “I felt that my cognition was fully intact, so I had to fight for the underdog. I had never been in that category before, but now I was put in a situation where I could represent them. I believe that if you are more fortunate than others, build a bigger table and not a taller fence,” Wolf said. 

In the past 16 years, Wolf has undergone a dozen major surgeries, and has had endless medical nightmares. She has had many broken bones, her face is partially paralyzed, and she has lost use of her one hand. She still cannot drive a car.

“I have had a lot of difficult challenges, but a lot of positive things have happened too,” said Wolf. 

She and her husband had their second child and they have become advocates for people with disabilities.

What

According to Wolf’s research, 20% of the U.S. population is disabled, making people with disabilities the country’s largest minority group. In 2017, Katherine and her husband, Jay Wolf, founded Hope Heals Camp—a week-long retreat in Alabama and year-round resource for families with disabilities. “It is a place for the entire family to make connections with others who may be suffering from a similar issue,” said Wolf. Since its opening, Wolf has seen people with all kinds of diagnoses—such as multiple sclerosis, down syndrome, and amputations—find that they are not in it alone. They have met others who may be going through the same thing, but with different physical and mental challenges, and by interacting with them, felt motivated to move on. Oftentimes, people who have never encountered another human with their rare genetic condition may meet another one for the first time. Seeing this gave Wolf a deeper purpose in life and desire to do more. 

In April 2024, the Wolfs met with expert consultants to open a cutting edge, universally designed, ADA compliant coffee shop in the posh neighborhood of Buckhead. MEND Coffee and Goods is a coffee shop, retail concept, and community hub that offers dignifying employment to adults with disabilities, as well as a state of the art accessibility-first spaces for gathering, working and celebrating. 

In terms of accessibility, each aspect was carefully considered in the design. The tables swivel up and down to accommodate people in wheelchairs. There is an adult changing station in the bathroom. The cashier counter has a cutout so that the wheelchairs can pull up to order and pay. The space is open, airy, and audible. Wolf added, “We took meaningful consideration when picking the location to make a statement that we are accessible to everyone. We want to share radical hospitality—part of which is sharing a space that is beautiful and of highest quality available. Good quality food and drink should not only be available to people with money or privilege.” 

Ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table is MEND’s core philosophy. And this is not only applicable to guests, but the staff as well. Wolf saw a deep divide in availability of meaningful employment for people with disabilities, so she decided that fifty percent of MEND’s staff would be visibly disabled, and the other half able bodied—each receiving dignified work and equal wages.

“People with disabilities have social circles that almost always consist of aging parents or paid care givers and no one else. So they don’t get to experience living and working in the real world. Research shows that if you only hire people with disabilities it does not help them integrate in society. That is what I wanted to change,” Wolf said. 

There are also Hope Heals Hangouts at MEND every day. This is where people with disabilities sign up to hang out and have a conversation with able-bodied volunteers. The idea is to invoke a sense of community and see life from another person’s perspective.

Why

When Wolf is asked why she decided to open a coffee shop, she remembers the first 11 months of her recovery. Wolf could only eat and drink through a tube. She felt extremely isolated socially. That’s when she realized that food is so much more than just eating. She said, “Coffee shops to me are a unique third place. They offer a slower way of being, different from work or home, even if you are working from a coffee shop. There’s a sense of community at a coffee shop.” So Wolfe decided to feature all her favorite foods and drinks—ones that she couldn’t have—on MEND’s menu. These include kombucha on draft, fresh baked pastries, gluten-free quiches, and Bellwood Coffee. She handpicked vendors that shared MEND’s values of belonging, representing marginalized communities, and employing fair labor and ethical wage practices.

Wolf longs for places like MEND to become the paradigm for every business in the USA, so that people with disabilities have more access to beautiful places, delicious food, and a sense of community. “We should not have to go through the backdoor of an institution and have a negative experience,” said Wolf. 

In the meantime, she continues to speak, write, and run her business from the platform of a wheelchair—with lots of caffeine and faith infused energy. “I get this beautiful second chance in life, I might as well live really hard!” exclaimed Wolf.