This is part of a series examining nonprofits that receive funding from the city of Huntsville. Find previous stories here, here, here and here.

As Huntsville flourished, two residents saw a need to mentor at-risk youths and get them plugged into the economic system.

Beth Boyer and Garrett Coyne founded Hatch in 2020 and admitted the first students, called hatchlings, a year later. Boyer worked as the general manager at Huntsville country club, and Coyne was a business development and political consultant before they started the nonprofit. Boyer continues to work as the general manager at the club while Coyne has added real estate development to his portfolio.

Hatch’s 8-week life skills and culinary training program serves youths between 18 and 24, who receive $1,250 stipends, modelling what happens in the workplace.

Financial literacy, therapy sessions, communications skills, conflict resolution, vehicle management, and field trips to different community locations are also part of the programming.

“Our term is ‘opportunity youths’ … young adults who have either missed opportunities or not been able to take advantage of some opportunities throughout their life and they also are filled with a ton of potential and opportunity,” Coyne told AL.com.

“Our number one focus is to train them in life skills,” Coyne added. “How to lead a self-sufficient life, how to grow a life and a career in a way that they become responsible citizens, contributing to our community.”

Graduate Joshua Farmer, 20, said a Grissom High School counselor introduced him to the program. Students also come from the juvenile justice system, churches, Harris Home for Children — a foster care organization, halfway homes, the Boys and Girls Club, and recommendations from graduates.

“I had no idea what I was going to do after high school,” said Farmer, “It was either sit around for a little bit or go to the military.”

He benefited from the transportation support the nonprofit provides during the school. And the nonprofit connected him with Huntsville Hospital where he works at a kitchen there as a hospitality assistant.

Another former student, Ollie Mockensturm, fought back tears as she shared her transformative journey with the workforce development program.

“I won’t be here without them,” she said.

Hatch is big on counseling and therapy, Mockensturm said. She explained how it made a big difference in her life. Before joining the program, she felt her life had no direction and said she battled severe depression and anxiety, struggling to envision a future beyond each day.

“You can’t really see past the day-to-day,” she said.

She said coming into the program changed her life and gave her a purpose she didn’t have before.

Now, she works as a full-time baker at the Hatch Cafe, which the nonprofit owns. “I also do all of their posters; I help with their advertisements,” said Mockensturm. “I literally have my dream job after not being able to find a future for myself for a really long time.”

The mental health resources do not stop at the end of the eight weeks.

“They still help us with counseling services, and just being able to give that one-on-one care to a person that really needs it is probably the biggest thing for me,” she said.

“And I’m now at a point in the Hatch program where I’m helping to mentor students and I’m able to be part of the same group that helped me so much and go out and help others in the same way.”

Coyne is surprised about how significant a licensed therapist as part of the team having would be. He said that they have given that part of the programming more emphasis since the school began.

“We didn’t know that the therapy was going to be as critical as it is,” he said. “But it really is. So we have more one-on-one time and after-graduation time with the therapist.”

Coyne is proud of how the youths improve economically, whether it was a homeless young father who now rents an apartment and has regained child custody or another graduate who went from earning $16,500 a year to $80,000 at Mazda Toyota.

The founders derive no compensation from the nonprofit to have a lean operation, he said.

“We have a team of folks who do work with the students and of course they’re paid, but Beth and I are not paid,” the cofounder said. “So we really wanted to make sure that we were doing it for the right reasons and that the right impact was going to be had.”

The city supported Hatch from the beginning and has contributed $360,000. An additional $490,000 has come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant the city administers.

Hatch qualifies for the yearly grant as a nonprofit that provides financial and workforce development for low to moderate-income individuals.

This year, the nonprofit gets $90,000 from the city, which constitutes one quarter of its total funding needs, according to city data.

“We are grateful that the city believes in the program,” Coyne said. “So they’re a partner of ours.”

He said the organization had received funding from other organizations like the Hilton Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and private fundraising from local community friends and family.

In May, when the program had 70 graduates, Coyne told the Huntsville City Council that 12 people were homeless before participating in the program, with 10 having stable housing afterwards. About 13% of the students employed before joining the program, while 93% were employed afterward.

Participants get ServSafe certification, which the restaurant and food service industry recognizes. And the nonprofit facilitates employment with Huntsville establishments, including with hospitality businesses, Huntsville Hospital, and Mazda Toyota.

Hatch had its 100th graduate this month.

Volunteer opportunities with Hatch include on field trips or as a guest speaker, and those interested can reach out via [email protected]