Interview: Blue Sky Inn Executive Director Lisa Thompson

By Chuck Sudo in Miscellaneous on Apr 25, 2008 3:00PM

Recent weeks have been very busy at Blue Sky Inn. They just launched a revamped website, passed their Health Department inspection allowing them to open their new café and bakery in Albany Park, and are tying up loose ends in advance of their spring fundraiser next Friday at the Esquire Theatre.

The pending opening of the bakery, in particular, is a high water mark for Blue Sky Inn. It not only allows them to plant stakes in Albany Park, but also serves as a formal base of operations for their farmers market and catering operations. The revenue generated from those sales is slated to support the organization's mission of providing at-risk, homeless youth with basic job training skills. It's a mission founder and Executive Director Lisa Thompson is passionate about. Prior to founding Blue Sky Inn, Thompson worked as a Sexual Assault Advocate for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the Director of the Do Right Foundation, a Development Officer at Children's Memorial Hospital, and the Director of Development for The Village Foundation. She is also trained as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and has taught with After School Matters. "One of the reasons I founded Blue Sky Inn was because I wanted to help these kids at a more localized level," Thompson said during our interview a couple weeks back, when she, Blue Sky Inn program participants and volunteers were still whipping the bakery into shape.

Blue Sky Inn does more than just make and sell amazing tasting cookies. Their "eXpressions" program takes those same at-risk youth and encourages them to develop their artistic skills. The interview touched upon Thompson's reasons for starting Blue Sky Inn, the road bumps along the way, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.

Chicagoist: How are the youth that take part in the job training program referred to Blue Sky Inn?

Lisa Thompson: They're essentially referred to me by case workers at local shelters. Most, if not all, of them have experienced homelessness or violence in their life. To be in the program, they have to be referred by a case worker. They keep me informed on kids who they think might be a good fit for the program and I let them know if I have any openings.

C: Is there a set of guidelines that kids in the program have to adhere to once they're accepted into the program?

LT: Yeah. I have a basic contract once they're accepted that I have them sign. It outlines what is expected out of them, but I have to be very specific with them about things like showing up and being ready to work. Being here also means that you show up sober and rested, wearing clean clothes and bathed, and have a good attitude. The things you normally assume when you get a job, I have to say to them.

C: How often does your experience as an advocate come into play? Are you able to get a sense of who isn't fully committed, or if they're trying to BS their way through the program?

LT: I would like to think that I can, but there are times where I can be a little bit of a pushover. I sympathize with these kids, so when one of them comes up to me and says, "I need money for diapers" or something like that, I have to sort those instances out as they happen.

C: When you first started putting together Blue Sky Inn, were you looking at the templates of other successful programs like the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless or Growing Home, which started as an offshoot of the Coalition?:

LT: Well, yes and no. When I first started the organization, I had no relationships with any service providers. I started it because I was aware that there was a need for support services for homeless youth, mainly through my own research. Then I realized that none of this would be possible without (developing) relationships with these other community providers. We work with the Night Ministry, Teen Living, and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. those are probably my three biggest partners.

C: Do you keep track of the success rates of the program's graduates?

LT: We just started the program last June, so it's still too new and I haven't had any youth who have graduated and transitioned to another job. There are two youth who are still in the program that I consider success stories in that they stuck it out. We're still trying to figure out details like the length of the program. I initially thought that the program would last twelve weeks. At the end of that time we had half the kids who started out, and those that remained weren't ready to start another job; I just felt that they had a lot more to learn.

C: So what other types of training are you trying to provide for these kids, besides job training? Are you looking at helping them with life skills, as well?

LT: We are. I try to look at what we provide strictly as job skills, just because I don't want to try to be everything to them. Then I am the one that they call when they get locked up, or when their housing falls through. As the only paid staff, I'm teaching them how to bake, managing the volunteers, raising funds. So by establishing relationships with other organizations that have those other needs, I can refer the kids to them.

For the transitional part of the job, we're working with Center on Halsted; they have a very comprehensive and established job training program. So they can help kids develop software skills, leadership and teamwork skills.

C: Let's move on to the baking. Are you self taught? How much advice do you receive from others?

LT: I've definitely gotten advice. the first nine months we did this we were at Kitchen Chicago, so there were always people around who had gone through cooking school that we could run our stuff by to make sure we were baking it right. I've never made a recipe by scratch.

C: Is one of your goals to have the revenue generated from the baked sales, catering, and farmers market sales sustain the bakery itself?

LT: Absolutely. Last year, just the money from the farmers market sales sustained the program. All that money we earned covered the youth wages, supplies, kitchen rental, everything. We're still reliant on foundation grants, and we'd like to find more of a balance.

C: What other farmers markets will Blue Sky Inn be Participating?

LT: We're going to be at the Southport farmers market, Sears Towerr on Thursdays, and Wicker Park on Sundays.

C: How has having a presence at the farmers market helped the organization?

LT: It's been huge. Last year we tripled our mailing list, got seventy-five percent of our catering clients through farmers market business, and made wonderful contacts with bars and other organizations who love our cookies and want to do trade-offs to help us out. I was a bit nervous about how the kids might interact with customers, but they've been the best selling point about the organization. Customers want to talk with them all the time!

C: are there going to be any new offerings for the farmers market this season?

LT: We introduced lemond curds and ginger snap cookies at the end of the season last year and they were wildly popular. So those will stay on. We're also making granola this year. It can also be purchased at Southport Grocery.

C: What other plans do you have in mind for the bakery?

LT: We're going to bake larger cakes here, in addition to what we're already doing. I'd like to have the ability to let kids decorate their own birthday cakes.

C: Any plans to possibly have baking demonstrations in the bakery. Say, with a noted pastry chef?

LT: That's a great idea, but if it happens it'll be much further down the road.

The Blue Sky Inn Bakery and Café is located at 4749 N. Albany and should be open any day now. For more information on Blue Sky Inn, or if you're interested in volunteering, please check out the Blue Sky Inn website.