TULSA, Okla. — She Brews Coffee Roasters was broken into for the second time this month.
The first incident was on July 5. Director of Business Development Ian Young told 2 News their back window was broken for entry, and their cash register was emptied.
In the early morning hours of July 23, again, someone broke in and pried their back door open. Security footage shows a man walking around a back room with a mask on and holding a flashlight.
Again, their cash register was emptied, and a few other odd items were taken.
"She Brews Coffee Roasters, we employ women who were previously incarcerated or come from a bad situation, and so creating a safe environment is super important to us," said Young. "I think for the team it’s just disheartening, they can feel unsafe coming to work and we don’t want them to feel that way. We want them to be as comfortable as possible.”
WATCH: 'It's not me anymore': She Brews Coffee House burglarized twice this month
As a non-profit rooted in rehabilitation, it's come as quite a blow. Not only have they lost a few hundred to thousands of dollars through the ordeal, some of the women's sense of security is now rocky.
Tamra Bissell, who has been with She Brews for the last three years, said if anything, it's given her the opportunity to reflect on how far she's come.
“It’s not me anymore but all you can do is sit there and just pray, say man I hope he gets out of it sooner than later," said Bissell.
Bissell spent 20 years of her life as a criminal before finding She Brews.
She helped open on the morning of the second break-in and was one of the first to realize what had happened just hours before.
"It did take me back to my criminal history, my criminal background, and it just made me be grateful that we’re not walking that way anymore," she said. "My criminal mindset kicked into gear and we stepped back and we were able to approach it and when we came in we knew exactly what areas to go look in."
Police told Young they think they know who the thief is, because a number of other businesses around the area have also been hit.
That struck a nerve with Bissell.
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"It made me reflect back, I bet people in my community in Arkansas where I lived at used to say that about me," she said. "I bet they were like 'I know who it is because she will not stop doing it, she’s a serial offender.'"
Bissell said she doesn't feel unsafe coming into the shop and she wants to make sure none of their customers are wary of visiting them either.
“Things happen all over Tulsa, all over any town, even a small country town ya know? It’s gonna happen, but it’s how you respond versus how you react to it I think is very crucial," she said.
2 News Oklahoma's Stef Manchen asked Bissell if she would have given the same kind of response 20 years ago, in the throws of her life as a criminal.
“Oh no, I would be right in it, I’d be like I wonder who this is?”
Rather than start the day off consumed by fear, Bissell said she and the other baristas chose to lead with something else.
“We just went to the door that was broken into and we just prayed over it," she said. "Prayed over the coffee shop and then we were like, lets get this coffee shop open for our customers because that’s what we do. We move forward.”
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