The smell of fresh coffee and warm breakfast foods fills the halls each morning at the Centre of Dreams and Hopes (CDH) in Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
But the café provides more than something hot to eat; it offers hands-on experience, confidence and connection.
Launched lats April, Café on Wheels is a student-run, classroom-based initiative operating daily from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Students rotate through responsibilities like taking orders, handling money, preparing beverages and delivering them across the centre — building practical job skills in a fully inclusive environment designed around their needs.
Each day begins with a bell echoing down the hallway.
Dania Marino walks the corridors ringing it and calling out, “Café on Wheels, Café on Wheels,” signalling that the café is open for business.
Marino, who is neurodivergent, smiles when asked about her favourite task: making drinks.
“Iced coffee or hot chocolate,” she said.
In those few words is something much bigger — pride, purpose and participation.
That sense of ownership is exactly what specialized educator Melissa Moses hoped to create when she launched the program.
“The purpose as to why we created Café on Wheels is because I wanted to create a real authentic work experience for my students,” she said.
Moses co-founded the initiative after seeing that traditional work-readiness programs often required students to conform to rigid structures that did not reflect their individual needs. She wanted to build something different — something authentic and inclusive.
“The purpose of Café on Wheels is just to make an inclusive working environment where we adapt the environment to meet our students’ needs and not the other way around,” she said.
Students take on a variety of roles throughout the morning: greeting customers, taking orders, managing the cash register, preparing beverages and delivering them to peers and staff. It allows each individual to participate in ways that align with their strengths and comfort levels.
Layered supports are built into every step. Visual schedules and pictograms guide order-taking. Clear visuals help students identify coins and manage money. Technology simplifies drink preparation to prevent cognitive overload and allow processing time.
Moses said consistency is key to the program’s success.
“They are enjoying it every single day,” she said. “I think what makes it so successful is just the routine and consistency of it.”
Because students know what to expect each morning, she said, they arrive calm, regulated and ready to work.
“It really creates a sense of belonging and community here.”
Beyond serving coffee, students are developing math, communication and teamwork skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
For David Moukarzel, those lessons are clear.
“I learned about work and I learned about job tasks, skills, and many of you have done it before and I love it too.”
In the hum of the morning rush, the café becomes something more than a workplace. It becomes a gathering place.
Vanessa Reda beams when she talks about preparing breakfast.
“My favourite is French toast.”
Rosa Farella, a loyal customer, says the café keeps her coming back for more than caffeine.
“What I like about coming here is because I have a family here who I really love, and they’re so special to me, and I love them so much.”
When she steps up to order, her choice is simple.
“Coffee, tea — anything that’s with caffeine, I order.”
For valued customer Alfie Guerriero, Café on Wheels is deeply personal.
“Café on Wheels is like a second family to me,” he said. “They have the best drinks, they have the best food, the best staff and also the best servers.”
Ordering from friends adds to the excitement.
“When I order from there, it makes me happy and excited.”
Behind the scenes, Moses shares leadership of the initiative equally with co-educator Anthony Picarazzi. While she supports students with order-taking and money handling, Picarazzi focuses on beverage preparation and service.
Picarazzi oversees the drink-making station, where accessibility is built into the process.
“I facilitate the drink-making section of Café on Wheels, and what we’ve done is streamline the process by making everything really accessible and one-button press, while also providing visuals for the students to follow to make the drinks,” he said.
Since the program’s launch, he has witnessed a transformation.
“I’ve noticed a complete change in the students. They’ve showed up with a bit more confidence, and it’s been really nice to watch them grow and to watch them believe that they can do these things, which is a little stepping stone towards having possibly a career one day.”
The collaboration, he added, has rippled beyond their classroom.
“It is actually amazing to watch all of the teamwork that happens here … and it’s been wonderful to see how such a collaboration has not just stayed in our classroom, but in other classrooms as well. And yeah, it’s been great.”
Moses shares the project equally with Picarazzi and hopes to see it expand into the wider community. The team is seeking donations and support to help grow Café on Wheels beyond the centre’s walls.
“We want to branch out from the centre outside into the community. So any way of helping would be fantastic,” she said.
For now, though, the impact is already visible.
“The deeper meaning of Café on Wheels is just being included in something that we all take ownership for and create the sense of responsibility and just this love for Café on Wheels. I mean, when we started it, we have grown already in the last two years and just seeing how everyone here has been just so excited by it. It motivates me as an educator to continue giving them new drinks, ideas, new food ideas. It really just brings our classroom together as a whole,” Moses expressed.
In a school hallway in Montreal, students are not just pouring coffee. They are practising math at the register, building communication skills with every order and learning the rhythm of teamwork behind the counter. They are discovering confidence. They are experiencing inclusion not as an idea, but as a daily reality.
“I think it’s one thing to teach teamwork in a classroom but sometimes that could feel a little bit rigid. Whereas here in Café On Wheels, it’s more practice, it’s authentic. I see the way my students come together wanting to help each other. And really, Café On Wheels cannot be done solely by one person. It really is a team effort. So I’m so proud of each and every one of my students,” Moses said.
And every morning, when the bell rings and the call echoes down the hall, Café on Wheels opens once again — serving opportunity, dignity and belonging, one cup at a time.
To read more about stories like this, you can head to Inspirations News.
