Breaktime (organization)
Breaktime is a Boston-based nonprofit founded in 2018 by Connor Schoen and Tony Shu. It helps reduce young adult homelessness by offering transitional employment—paid, above-minimum-wage jobs along with training, placement, and long-term support.
How it works: Breaktime’s participants, called associates, start with a 3-week training course, then take a 3-month job placement at a nonprofit or small business. After graduation, they receive nine months of follow-up support, including check-ins, career counseling, and financial coaching. The program also helps partner employers by co-funding wages, making it easier for them to hire trained workers. Breaktime explicitly supports LGBTQ+ young adults and those who grew up in foster care.
Impact and growth: In 2020, 25 associates helped address food insecurity by preparing and delivering over 650,000 meals in Greater Boston. Since then, Breaktime has employed nearly 200 young adults in the area. Alumni outcomes are strong: 83% are working or in school (vs 12% before Breaktime), wages rise about 33%, and 77% are in stable housing.
Facilities and expansion: In 2024, Breaktime opened a Downtown Boston hub at 63 Franklin Street with showers, laundry, donated food and clothes, and a space for job training. The building also supports future partnerships with local organizations like Boston Health Care for the Homeless. Breaktime bought the building in December 2024 for $6.3 million, creating a space for career training, health services, and other supports, close to Boston’s transit network.
History and recognition: The founders were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2021 for Breaktime’s social impact. Breaktime started the Double Impact Initiative during the pandemic with Community Works Service to make and distribute meals for food-insecure residents.
Partnerships and funding: Breaktime teams with about a dozen small businesses and partners such as the Cape Verdean Association of Boston, Jewish Family & Children's Services, Project Hope, and Sojourner House. It receives support from the City of Boston and funders including Liberty Mutual, BlackRock, the Boston Resiliency Fund, the American Heart Association, Born This Way Foundation, Forest Foundation, the Fidelity and MassMutual foundations, John Hancock, the Riley Foundation, and the Martin Richard Foundation. Breaktime is part of Boston’s long-term plan to end youth homelessness and was a recipient of the city’s 2022 Youth Development Fund ($1.25 million).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:05 (CET).