Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Ethical caf?© gives homeless chance to make a change

March 09 2011
Like coffee and fancy becoming a barista?


A café run by an Edinburgh homeless charity is now planning to skill up its service users as coffee baristas, giving them training and support, which in the long-term the charity hopes will help get them off the streets.

Captain Charles Taylor's Coffee House, run by Streetworks, launched quietly on the South Bridge in the Scottish capital during the Edinburgh Festival 2010 and now runs as both a takeaway and café.

Its name is a nod to a well-known Edinburgh benefactor of the homeless, Captain Charles Taylor, whose legacy was the Sailor's Arc, a homeless service which ran from the 1930s until it was unfortunately forced to close its doors in 2007.

Serving high-quality coffee supplied by Artisan Roast, over the last six months it has been attracting discerning coffee drinkers from across the city and ploughing all the profits from the café back into the charity. But its plans for 2011 are more ambitious.

Now its aim is to get the homeless people using the charity's core services working behind the counter. In future, says the charity, those who approach Streetwork in a vulnerable situation could end up earning their crust serving coffees.

Streetwork's Jackie Whalen explained that though the plans for next phase of the café's life were seemingly simple, they had the potential to make a real difference.

"Service users who are ready to re-enter the working world will be given support, including food preparation and food hygiene training, to help them get behind the counter," she explained.

Service users will be referred to the training scheme through Streetwork's Higher Ground scheme that seeks to rehabilitate vulnerable using funding from Scottish Government.

The goal is for these service users to be introduced to working at a pace that suits them as individuals. Like all of Captain Taylor's Coffee House they will be given their in-house training from barista Tom, himself a former employee of Aristan Roast. This support should give them the best possible chance for a successful return to work.

Work experience in catering is valuable and it is transferable the world over, according to the Streetwork team, who also hope that learning new skills and returning to employment will give service users the confidence boost they so badly need. In turn it is hoped that this will help them to leave the streets behind for good.

Jackie Whalen told The Pavement that Streetwork are hoping coffee drinkers will be attracted to Captain Taylor's Coffee House because it allows them to easily engage with a charitable cause simply by buying themselves a coffee.

And it seems to be working. Reports so far show that this cafe is helping put an ethical Edinburgh on the map, for all the right reasons.
 

And the charity also gets its own wheels...

Another boost to Streetwork is the recent acquisition of two cars, bought with the help of The Big Lottery Fund. This will help be used to help the work Streetwork does with 16-25-year-olds through the ESIST project.

ESIST aims to help young people, supporting them while they find employment and housing. The team work closely with individuals struggling to make the transition from growing up in care to living independently, aiming to ensure that they don't end up sleeping rough by providing the proactive support.

The project aims to engage with young people on their own turf, visiting schools, the streets and local neighbourhoods across the city. Being mobile is key to its success.

These cars may seem like a simple addition to the project, but Streetwork say they will be invaluable in helping them to reach, pick up, transport vulnerable young people who might otherwise not access support.
 

•  To get more information about Streetwork and the services they offer visit their website at www.streetwork.org.uk, or call 0131 557 6055 or Freephone 0808 178 2323. If you are homeless and need help, you can also drop in at 22 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AF.

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