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Johnson County couple helping other families with counseling through coffee house

Posted at 6:12 PM, Mar 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-03 18:12:38-05

FRANKLIN — A couple in Johnson County is helping other family's futures with every cup of coffee they sell.

Coffee House 5 has given about $200,000 towards counseling services for the community in the last eight years or so.

Brian Peters, who co-owns the coffee shop with his wife Michelle, was a lawyer before becoming a barista and certified counselor. He says it is all divine intervention.

"We had a lot of difficulty early on in our marriage," Peters said. "The first 10 years was really rough. Most of that was due to my alcoholism. I'm a recovering alcoholic. I've been in recovery for 25 years now."

Their struggles led to a separation, but it didn't last long. As they worked to rebuild their marriage, they found themselves in a position to save other families.

"We quite literally got to the point that people started showing up to our doorstep asking for help with their marriage," Peters said.

The couple offers marital and addiction counseling to others. They are setting aside money to help those battling mental illness.

"I started to research the barriers to counseling and that was the number one barrier, the cost," Peters said.

Their newest shop in Franklin opens Wednesday. They also have a location in Greenwood.