About SPiN Cafe

SPiN Cafe serves people experiencing homelessness on Whidbey Island, as well as community members who might have a place to stay, but nowhere to call home.

Some of our guests live in stable housing and work, yet struggle to put food on the table and meet their family’s nutritional needs. SPiN serves an average of 25-30 guests at each meal. In addition to our meal services, SPiN provides access to laundry services, housing referrals, and information on local services and shelter.

There is no qualifier for receiving SPiN services.We are open to all regardless of income, race, ability, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, or creed.

Our History

SPiN Cafe was founded by Vivian Rogers-Decker during her tenure as Student Support Specialist and Homeless Liaison for the Oak Harbor School District. The students and families she worked with faced every degree of homelessness, from sleeping on friends’ couches to living in campers, cars, tents, in the woods and on the beach. Then and now, many youth and families lack access to basic amenities: meals, showers, hygiene products, laundry services, or a safe place to ride out a rainy day.

SPiN Cafe was born of the idea that providing for these needs, in a welcoming and respectful environment, could improve a student’s overall health and welfare, leading to increased attendance, a more positive outlook, and, ultimately, academic success.

Since opening our doors in 2012, SPiN Cafe has morphed into a multi-purpose organization, not only serving local students and their families, but also the Whidbey Island community as a whole.

Our Partnerships

SPiN Cafe strives to operate as independently as possible, depending primarily on the talents and gifts of our guests, volunteers, and local community organizations to drive our program services and development. We firmly believe in the importance of collaborating with our fellow human service agencies and faith organizations to meet the diverse needs of our community while reducing the duplication of efforts.

We collaborate with The Haven, Opportunity Council, CADA (Citizens Against Domestic Violence), the House of Hope, the Whidbey Homeless Coalition, Ryan’s House for Youth, and Island County Human Services to provide coordinated entry to available local shelter programs, and we advocate for more affordable and emergency housing with our city council and county government.