Neighbourly Coffee offers ‘leg up’ for people who were once unhoused – New Brunswick | 24CA News
A New Brunswick group has brewed up a singular method to addressing homelessness that for some individuals has been extra eye-opening than a cup of espresso.
“A lot of people want to work, but if you don’t have a place to live, to shower and wash your clothes, to sleep, it makes it really difficult,” mentioned Katrina Lunn who’s coaching to develop into a barista at a pop-up espresso store in Fredericton known as Neighbourly Coffee.
The lately opened espresso store is a social enterprise created by 12 Neighbours, which has established 63 backed tiny houses on a delegated plot of land in Fredericton, offering a secure haven for these with out shelter.
Community members residing within the tiny houses are actually gaining priceless work and life expertise working within the store.
Marcel Lebrun, the founding father of 12 Neighbours, says the espresso store is, “what we call our path to independence. We start with affordable housing and then we invest in personal development and employability,” he mentioned.
Lebrun’s distinctive method to addressing homelessness is leaving a long-lasting impression on individuals like Lunn who mentioned she lived in a ladies’s shelter and on the streets earlier than turning into a resident of 12 Neighbours. She mentioned the tiny houses not solely provide a safe dwelling house however this system additionally affords wrap-around helps to assist individuals get again on their ft. “If you struggle with addiction or mental illness or maybe you want to do some GED classes, all those are provided by 12 Neighbours which really helps you get a leg up,” she mentioned.
With plans for a everlasting espresso store proper on the doorstep of the rising group, together with a tiny-home-building workshop to offer coaching and employment alternatives, 12 Neighbours is dedicated to empowering its residents mentioned Lebrun. He mentioned that many residents face hurdles and he believes that help and persistence are essential for the undertaking’s success.
“We have what we call patient and progressive employment, so we can start where people are at and dial up the hours and complexity of the tasks as people progress,” mentioned Lebrun.
The success of 12 Neighbours has drawn the eye of group teams working to handle homelessness throughout Canada, mentioned Lebrun, who brazenly shares his mannequin.
For Lunn, the undertaking has not solely given her a house and a rewarding job working within the espresso store but in addition a priceless perk: “It gave me a place to belong, which I really needed, and I have such a sense of community now.”
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