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Access and community through baking

By: Ehvan Fennel

For Nigel Thompson and Qiana Daniels, lending a helping hand has always come second nature. Nigel spent 21 years as a cop, and Qiana is currently a public school teacher.

It is their passion that guided them through a personal part of their journey, helping their autistic son Nigel jr navigate his life.

“At one time we lived upstate, and you know everything was mostly in the city for Nigel, and then when we relocated back to the city, you know, classes weren’t often in our neighborhood,” Qiana said, who is originally from Queens.

Finding resources for Nigel Jr. proved at times impossible. 

“It’s not to say that New York State doesn’t have a lot of resources; there are a lot of resources, it’s just a maze. A disconnect. So it creates a lot of confusion,” the Brooklyn-native Nigel said.

Qiana and Nigel thought if they were in a bind looking for help, other parents must be in the same boat. Youth with special needs like Nigel Junior have little to no opportunities after completing high school. The situation is a common dilemma known in their world as a “disability cliff.”

In the first two years of exiting high school, a Department of Education study on individuals with autism spectrum disorder, or asd— found nearly 40% of young adults with asd received no support at all.

“So Nigel and I were like, well, what are we gonna do when Nigel finishes school?” Qiana said.

Nigel and Qiana both knew kindred was a no-brainer.

“So we thought of the idea of kindred. Creating a bakery space for people like Nigel to come to learn culinary skills and to go as far as they possibly can in this, in this profession, and if not, then at least become more independent in the space that they’re in,” Qiana said. They started their baking classes in a makeshift kitchen in Flatbush, Brooklyn, three years ago— which led to their non-profit Kindred Bakery BK.

They are not just teaching their son life skills through the organization— they are helping other families with young adults on the spectrum learn how to cook, bake, and other skills that can really bring in the dough. 

“It doesn’t seem like work; it’s family, because these are the things that we always wanted for Nigel,” Qiana said.

Each program lasts about 3 hours and leaves chefs with culinary skills, a social space, and extra cinnamon rolls to go. It has been one of the few places that Nigel and Qiana could see their non-profit rise and their mission in motion.