Volunteer training
“When I see you here, I don’t feel alone.”
Everything in this guide serves that. Read it before your first shift, and keep it handy on your phone.
Start here
What the table is and isn't
Café Gratis is a hospitality table on the public sidewalk on Interurban Ave S in Tukwila, near the office where community members check in with ISAP. Some come every two weeks, some monthly. We offer a warm cup, a snack, a smile, and company during a frightening appointment.
- We are a steady, welcoming presence every weekday morning the office is open, 9 a.m. to noon.
- We are not a legal service, a rapid response team, a protest, or a source of advice about anyone's case.
Before you come
Before your first shift
Sign up on the volunteer form
Your contact details go only to that day's lead.
Pick a day that has a lead
Every shift needs one, so sign up only for a day that already has a lead.
Come only if you signed up
Too many people at the table makes it feel less approachable. Youth are welcome with a parent or guardian alongside them.
Park off site
The office park has told us its property, parking lot included, is off limits.
Read this page
Especially the privacy rules and what to do if someone is detained.
Team size: a lead plus one to three volunteers per shift.
Your morning
Your shift, start to finish
What the table brings
- Canopy, table or wagon, the sandwich board, and the multilingual welcome signs
- Airpots of coffee, already brewed, plus tea, cream, sugar, cups, stirrers, and napkins
- Cooler with juice boxes and water, especially in warm weather
- Pre-packaged snacks. Pan dulce and mandarin oranges go fast; seasoned peanuts don't.
- For kids: juice, animal crackers, and when we have them, coloring books, small stuffed animals, bubbles, or toy cars
- Printed resource sheets in each language we stock
- A trash bag
A lead who can run the whole setup alone may pick up the supplies and return them after the shift. Otherwise the organizers deliver them.
Supplies are restocked through the Amazon wish list.
Set up, before 9 a.m.
Set up on the public sidewalk only, never on the office park's property.
Put the sandwich board and welcome signs where people walking from the parking lot can see them.
Set out the airpots of coffee, with cups, cream, and sugar.
Agree who does what, and be ready to rotate or cover a role while someone is welcoming a community member.
During the shift
- Wave and smile. Many people won't know the table is for them. Let people come to you.
- Offer coffee or tea first, then a snack. Offer kids juice and a treat, with a parent's OK.
- Invite people to tell others in the waiting room that the coffee is free.
- Keep the table area open and uncrowded.
Tear down, at noon
Pack up food and drinks, and tell the lead what's running low.
Leave the sidewalk cleaner than you found it.
Tell the lead about anything unusual: security or police contact, a detention, or a car left behind.
Welcome
Hospitality and language
Community members come from dozens of countries across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Many are tired, anxious, or scared. Some want to talk; most just want a warm cup.
- Say "community members" or "neighbors." Never "illegals" or "aliens."
- Don't ask about anyone's case, status, or how they came here. Listen if they choose to share.
- Do invite people to share about their home country, and point it out on the map on the table if they'd like.
- Don't promise outcomes. "I hope it goes well" is kind; "you'll be fine" may not be true.
- Respect a no. Some people won't stop by, and that's fine.
- Gestures work. Point to the airpots, hold up a cup, smile.
A few phrases
Welcome! Free coffee.
- Español ¡Bienvenidos! Café gratis.
- Français Bienvenue ! Café gratuit.
- Português Bem-vindos! Café grátis.
- Русский Добро пожаловать! Бесплатный кофе.
Coffee or tea?
- Español ¿Café o té? or ¿Un cafecito?
- Français Café ou thé ?
- Português Café ou chá?
- Русский Кофе или чай?
With cream and sugar?
- Español ¿Con crema y azúcar?
- Français Avec du lait et du sucre ?
- Português Com leite e açúcar?
- Русский Со сливками и сахаром?
Juice for the kids?
- Español ¿Jugo para los niños?
- Français Du jus pour les enfants ?
- Português Suco para as crianças?
- Русский Сок для детей?
Good luck today.
- Español Que le vaya bien.
- Français Bon courage.
- Português Boa sorte.
- Русский Удачи.
Most important
Privacy rules
Community members are already watched closely. The table must never add to that.
- No photos or video of community members or their children at the table, for any reason.
- No names of community members, in conversation away from the table, in texts, or online.
- No identifying details. Don't share someone's country, family, case, or story in a way that could point to them.
- Nothing goes online without the organizers' OK.
Volunteers may appear in photos only with their own OK, and with no community member in the frame. Volunteer contact details stay with the day's lead.
If it happens
If someone is detained
Detentions at this office come in waves. Agents have taken people out the back door into unmarked cars.
Stay calm and stay on public property
Don't run toward agents, block a vehicle, or touch anyone.
Report it right away
The WAISN Deportation Defense hotline coordinates rapid response. The number is also on the printed resource sheet.
Keep hosting
Keep serving and stay with anyone who is upset. Don't leave the table unstaffed if you can avoid it.
Note any car the person came in
Make, color, and where it's parked. See cars left behind, below.
Tell the lead afterward
The lead passes the report on to the organizers.
Your team lead will walk you through what to do if someone is detained.
After a detention
Cars left behind
People detained at check-in often leave a car in the lot. If it's towed and impounded, fees pile up fast. The goal is to reach the owner and get their permission before anyone touches the car.
Note the car
Make, model, color, and where it's parked.
Don't touch or move it
Not without the owner's permission.
Tell the lead
The organizers work with the family on where the car goes and who moves it.
Gently offering family safety plan resources to returning community members helps too. A plan can name who picks up the car and where the spare key is. They're on the resources page.
We'll add who on the team handles cars, and a short form community members can fill out ahead of time.
Pushback
Police and security
The table has a City of Tukwila permit to be on the sidewalk.
- Stay on the public sidewalk.
- Let the lead do the talking. Stay calm and polite, and mention the table's city permit.
- Don't argue, and don't share anything about community members.
- Tell the organizers about any contact afterward.
Keep it separate
Rapid responders
The table is a hospitality ministry, not a rapid response team. Keeping that line clear protects the table's place on the sidewalk and the community members who stop by.
- The table doesn't train or dispatch rapid responders.
- If you want to be a responder, take WAISN's monthly online training and sign its volunteer agreement. A background check and a local team's vetting follow, which can take weeks.
- When you respond for WAISN, you respond as WAISN, not as Café Gratis.
- WAISN's commitment to non-violence applies to everyone at the table too.
Point, don't advise
Pointing people to help
Volunteers point people to help; they don't give it. If someone asks a legal question, the answer is "Here's who can help," not advice.
- A lawyer or legal screening: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, or WAISN's resource finder.
- Help after a loved one is detained: the WAISN hotline above, and the steps on the resource sheet.
- Checking a hearing date: the immigration court's automated case line and site.
- Food, housing, or health care: Washington 211.
- Someone to talk to after trauma: the sheet's mental health section.
Hand out the printed resource sheet when someone wants it. Everything is also on the resources page, in many languages.
For you
Taking care of yourself
You may hear hard stories and see people taken. That stays with you.
- Talk it through with the lead or another volunteer after a hard shift.
- It's fine to step back for a while.
- Keep what you saw private. Debrief with the team, not online.
We'll add who to contact if you need more support.
Coming back
Shifts and teams
- Mornings: every weekday the office is open, 9 a.m. to noon, through the sign-up form.
- Afternoons: 1 to 5 p.m. has no coverage yet. It needs a whole team that has already trained on morning shifts.
- Groups: a church, school, or other group can take one morning a month or more. Its team lead learns the ropes first, then recruits and trains the team.