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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018
New coffee shop helps addicts By Robert Whale rwhale@soundpublishing.com
They advertise themselves as “an army of soldiers,” a fierce, fighting force of recovering family members and recovering addicts. And if you want to hear their stories, seven of the people who in April opened Battlefield Coffee House on A Street in Auburn will unfold the tales, sparing none of the horrors. They’ll talk about drug addiction, theirs or that of loved ones and dear friends – the son’s life lost, the meltdown of a father’s and mother’s trust, the loss of livelihoods and homes, life on the street, the erosion of respect and dignity. They lived it all. But as you learn quickly, co-founders Art Dahlen and Angie Keaty, and managers Jason Churchill, Adam Day, Korby Ercanerack, Kevin Chang, Emily Swanson, and Kristin Fairweather, flat out refuse to live in the past. Instead, they put all of their experience, strength and hope into action, fighting for, and standing with, broken people, people still on their knees. “Battlefield grew out of the need for a place for families of
After 37 years on the force, Police Chief Bob Lee steps away on June 22. By Robert Whale rwhale@soundpublishing.com
Teams must be resourceful and work with people of many walks, cultures and languages to solve problems along the way, like mechanical breakdowns or simply replacing a flat tire. “We’re on our own. … I’m sure we will be using charades, most of the time,” said Madison, a Todd Beamer High School graduate, speaking from Kathmandu, Nepal, where she and her husband are touring. “We heard about past rally teams tying together their engines with shoelaces and Zip ties … and getting
Back in his days at the police academy, Bob Lee once said, few officers-to-be considered working for Auburn because King County was the bigger agency and had more to offer. But four to five months into the job, the fresh-faced, then 21-year-old rookie patrolman changed his mind. Auburn Police “I thought, Chief Bob Lee ‘There’s no way I’m leaving,’ “ Lee told the Auburn City Council in 2016. “It provides everything a young person could want continuing in law enforcement.” Stay Lee did, rising through the ranks from patrolman to sergeant on Feb. 1990, to lieutenant on March 16, 1997, to assistant patrol chief on Dec. 3, 2002 until, on Oct. 1, 2010, he succeeded former Police Chief Jim Kelly, who was leaving to take a job at the SCORE jail. On June 22, Lee retires from the force after 37 years. “I think that over the years, of all the people who have come here, very few have left because it’s an awesome place to work,” Lee said. “I am going to miss him terribly, not only as a police chief but as a friend as well.” said Mayor Nancy Backus. “Our daughters played soccer together for many years, so there is that bond that
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Eager to help addicts and their families turn back addiction at Battlefield Coffee House in Auburn are, back row, from left, managers Adam Day and Korby Ercanerack, co-founder Art Dahlen, co-founder Angie Keaty and her husband, Tim Keaty. Front row, from left, are managers Jason Churchill, Emily Swanson and Kevin Chang. ROBERT WHALE, Auburn Reporter
addicts to get some support,” explained Dahlen, co-founder of Battlefield Coffee House and a recovering heroin addict with 17 years in the field of addiction. Keaty, who co-founded the coffee house, lost her 23-yearold son, Devon, to addiction two years ago June 3, and comes to the task with nine years of
experience. She quit her job to devote all of her time to building the organization from the studs up and working with families. “Addiction showed up and became a big teacher for me, and the education continues today,” Keaty said. In 2012, Dahlen and his wife, Amy, founded the nonprofits
Sober Living and Big Change Recovery Homes. In 2014, the couple assumed operation of Northwest Resources Treatment House and began arranging treatment and housing. “We had Sober Living and the outpatient treatment facility, but See COFFEE, Page 8
Local couple is off to see the whole, wide world Madison and Jake Leland are ready for their next adventure: the Mongol Rally, an international road trip billed as the “Greatest Adventure in the World.” By Mark Klaas mklaas@soundpublishing.com
Hunger for adventure has taken Madison and Jake Leland to faraway lands, majestic sites, moving sounds and
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fascinating people. The globetrotting couple have covered many miles but yearn to take many more roads less travelled. How about an extensive summertime road trip, a daunting task of passing through at least 25 countries sprinkled over two continents? How about consuming more than 10,000 miles, beginning in Europe and finishing in Russia less than two months later? All from behind the wheel of a modest, 20-year-old, Ford Fiesta the couple bought for $100 from “some guy on Facebook.”
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The Lelands – Madison, who grew up in Auburn and Federal Way, and Jake, of Duvall – are about to take their chances in the Mongol Rally, an international road trip that’s described as the “Greatest Adventure in the World.” More of a survival mission than an actual race, the rally can be unforgiving. Rally vehicles have a 1200cc engine limit. On average, about 70 percent of the 300 teams that enter the rally complete the ride, which spans about one-third of the Earth’s circumference. Teams must go it alone, without backup or support vehicles.
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Have a cup Battlefield Coffee is at 129 A Street in Auburn, in the former site of Jason’s Bakery. Its grand opening is from 12 to 3 p.m. July 13, with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Oddfellas Pub and Eatery will provide the food.
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we weren’t gaining enough traction,” Dahlen said. “Apparently, we couldn’t get it done without families getting involved.” That’s where Battlefield Coffee comes in: filling the gaps; getting addicts into recovery; and guiding families to and through recovery. “We don’t leave families at any point in the process,” said Dahlen, a no-nonsense kind of guy, not used to sugar coating the hard stuff, blessed with the natural gift of coaching families through the steps they must take to save their loved ones. “Donations have not only helped us give scholarships to families and those in recovery, but also help us continue doing what we do on a daily basis. “We have an army of not only volunteers but also employed ‘soldiers’ who can give fully of their time, without restrictions,” Dahlen added. Like Adam Day, once a warehouse manager with 116 people in his employ, whose lifelong drug use finally spun out of control and cost him his job. His addictions landed him in and out of treatment centers in California, Utah, Washington and Missouri. Eleven months ago, Day approached Dahlen, a longtime friend, for treatment. “With addiction, it’s not just the addict, it’s the whole family that gets sick. Before I came here, I’d go to treatment, come back, and my wife and I would argue back
and forth. This time. my wife started going on Tuesdays to what they call the Solution Groups. So she’s learning and growing, too,” Day said. Churchill worked with Dahlen at a Sumner bakery in the mid-‘90s, getting high, he concedes, at every opportunity. “I was one of the people you call a functioning addict: you know, does a lot drugs and thinks nobody knows when in fact, the entire planet knows. I still payed my bills, I still had my son, but I’m high all the time, thinking it’s OK – but it’s not OK. In 2013, I sent my son to live with family in Montana. It really hit me hard that I couldn’t take care of him any more.” In January 2015, Churchill called Dahlen and said: “I can’t do it anymore. He said, ‘About time. Come on, we’ve got you.’ ” “Addiction is 24/7, and so should be the help available when those suffering reach out for it,” Dahlen said. Battlefield is at 129 A Street in Auburn, where Jason’s Bakery used to be. The grand opening is 12 to 3 p.m., July 13.
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really creative. “This adventure will pit us against some of the most ominous mountains, deserts and border crossings known to man,” she said. “We have never done anything like this before. We’re very excited for it, but it’s also overwhelming.” Jake added: “I’m a little nervous, a little fear of the unknown, but I’m also real excited. It will be an adventure, a fun experience. We obviously have a lot of challenges, but we will learn from those. We’ll grow from those.” Team Leland – Jake’s brother, Jaren, will join them as a navigator – will follow a southern route, beginning in Prague, Czech Republic on July 15, and ending in UlanUde, Russia, about 150 miles from the Mongolian border, before the rally closes its finish line Sept. 10. The route promises good highways to Turkey, but the path turns difficult with unpredictable turns, undefined roadways and rugged terrain. For instance, teams will cross the Gobi Desert of northern China and southern Mongolia and use the Leh-Manali Highway, one of the highest roads in the world (average elevation 13,000 feet), which stretches about 300 miles through the mighty Himalayan landscape. “It’s a free-for-all,” Madison said. “We are taking the southern route. Other teams are crossing Iran.
Madison and Jake Leland smile in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May, one of the many countries they have explored in their extensive travels. COURTESY PHOTO
Links • Smile Train donation page: my.smiletrain. org/fundraiser/mjroam • Follow the Lelands on their travel blog: mjroam.com • Follow the Lelands on Facebook
We chose to cross the Caspian Sea outside Turkey to complete the southern route.” Adventurous couple The Lelands met in college, Madison graduating from Washington State University, Jake from Gonzaga. They held corporate desk jobs in Chicago for the past five years – Madison in business development,
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This summer, Jaren, Jake and Madison Leland, here enjoying a visit to Hood Canal, are a team ready to take on the Mongol Rally half a world away. COURTESY PHOTO
Jake in financing and auditing. Whenever they could, the couple travelled. Married in August, the Lelands went on a safari in Africa for their honeymoon. When they returned, they entertained thoughts of travelling farther and longer. No car, no house and no kids, the 28-year-olds were looking for something more. “We felt pretty restless and realized how much there was to see out there,” Madison said. “It pretty much spurred our motivation to leave everything behind and travel more.” So they took in Europe, explored parts of Asia. They volunteered, taught English and worked in nonprofit outreach at various stops. Drive for others The upcoming rally carries meaning for the Lelands — all teams are required to drive for a charity. The Lelands are raising money for Smile Train, an international children’s charity that provides free cleft lip and palate corrective surgeries for boys and girls in developing countries. The cause is special to the Lelands because Jake
was born with a cleft lip and palate, and Madison graduated from the Speech and Hearing Sciences program at WSU. For Jake, surgeries from infancy to 5 at Children’s Hospital corrected his smile. Other children in third-world environments are not as fortunate. “For some of them, it affects every aspect of their life, from eating, breathing, to how they are treated in the community,” Madison added. The Lelands plan to drop by hospitals to meet surgeons and patients along the way. Travel and people have brought out the best in the couple, who continue to gain a better perspective of who they are, who others are and where they are going. “People seem very different in other countries, but when you actually go there, you realize it’s not scary,” Jake said. “People more or less are the same. They want to be with family. They smile. They laugh. … They enjoy food. They have their religious traditions. “No matter where you live in the world, humans are all similar,” he said. “And we can all get along.”