Trail Youth Coffee Home co-founder stepping back from role

Tonya Guinn discusses the legacy she’s leaving at the North Bend youth nonprofit.

In 2014, Tonya Guinn was walking Issaquah’s Rainier Trail with two of her friends when they noticed the sentiments “worthless” and “society’s trash” carved into a bench and the side of a tree.

They stopped to speak to some of the unhoused youth camping near the trail and discovered that this was how they saw themselves. The three women began bringing the kids coffee, donuts and an open ear.

“We saw a lot of young people congregating. Some were sleeping in the woods, many were on drugs,” Guinn said. “Many of them were lacking basic resources and had lost hope, so we started coming down every week at the same time to build rapport and to kind of earn the right to hear their stories.”

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The goal in the beginning, she said, was to connect the youth to available resources. Fast forward to today, and the women are able to offer those resources through their own nonprofit.

Today, their care for local youth has evolved into The Trail Youth Coffee Home, a 501(c)(3) with a brick and mortar space in downtown North Bend. The Trail Youth offers a free drink a day to all youth who come in, as well as counseling, a recovery program and other youth-centered programming.

Each of the women behind The Trail Youth — Guinn, Kristen Zuray and Wendy Laxton — have a history of community outreach. Guinn has a background in social work and has spent a lot of time working with people who have special needs.

When The Trail Youth started, Guinn also had a deeply personal reason for wanting to connect with the community.

“I was drawn to the youth that we saw on the trail because right before all this happened, I lost my brother in a drunk driving accident,” she said. “My heart was really drawn to youth that were hurting and had lost hope.”

Audrey Arnel started going to The Trail Youth at age 12 and volunteering at age 14. Now 18, Arnel said Guinn was a mentor for her during difficult times.

“I’ve been hospitalized a few times. She was always there to just be a friendly face and kind of help me through that,” she said.

Arnel, who still volunteers at The Trail Youth, is grateful not only to Guinn, but the coffee shop itself, which will remain a haven, despite organizational changes.

“I don’t think I’d be alive today if the organization never existed,” she said. “Trail Youth is beyond just a coffee shop. It’s kind of a symbol to me. It feels like home.”

Guinn is stepping away from her role as executive director to spend more time with her family, but she will still be a part of The Trail Youth community and its future, which she strongly believes in.

“We have so many success stories, and that’s going to keep going forward,” she said. “We’ve got great leadership moving forward.”

As of April 1, the executive director role will be shared by Aprille Balangue, who will oversee business development, and David Beegle, who will oversee operations and finance.

Guinn said her hope for the nonprofit is that it remains steadfast to its original values while also evolving with new generations of youth.

“We want every young person to feel seen and heard,” she said, “so we’ve had to pivot a few times.”

In her time with The Trail Youth, Guinn has received a leadership award from Boy Scouts of America, and the nonprofit received best nonprofit from 425 Business Magazine in 2023.

While Guinn appreciates the recognition, the work itself is her shining achievement.

“What I’m most proud of is all the relationships that we’ve formed over the many years,” she said, “and just seeing how the trajectory of youth lives can change by just letting them know that they’re worthy, valuable and here for a purpose.”