A Vancouver coffee shop has created what it is calling a ‘code order’ for anyone to come in and use if they feel unsafe, if they are being stalked or if they need help.
“We get that there’s a lot of anxiety in the world with some of the events that’s happened and mostly this is in response to just relieving some of that anxiety and let people know if you’re in the area and you don’t feel safe, you’re being followed you can pop in,” said Eldric Stuart, owner of Harken Coffee at 338 Powell St. in Vancouver.
He said the code coffee order comes from the fact that sometimes a person can’t always vocalize that they need help.
This comes on the heels of a video that went viral last week of a Vancouver woman saying she was followed closely by a strange man for more than half an hour.
Jamie Coutts filmed much of the encounter that started around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday near Keefer and Columbia streets on the edge of Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside.
Coutts said her stalker didn’t appear fazed by the camera at all.
Stuart decided to let everyone know if they need help in the area to come in and order a non-fat Americano.
“An Americano is normally espresso and water so it doesn’t have any milk in it so it’s a drink that doesn’t exist,” he said.
Harken is also a dairy-free coffee shop so they don’t even carry non-fat milk.
“We really hope that we don’t ever have to use that code word but we wanted to let people know it exists,” Stuart added.
If staff hears the code order, then Stuart said the customer will be directed to sit down nearby and then a staff member will go over and ask what that person needs — if that includes calling a friend or calling the authorities.
“It wasn’t intended to create any kind of movement or inspire anybody else to do it but just to let people know that we are here and we are a safe space,” he added.
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