IF YOU’VE taken a stroll down Jonson Street lately you may have noticed the recent addition of a small black shipping container between the post office and the Byron Community Centre.
More than just another coffee outlet, the Coffee Box involves an innovative new barista training program that aims to help local women ease their way back into the workforce.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to create a social enterprise that not only provides good training for people, but also a way of supporting that through income generated by the sale of coffee,” said Cr Paul Spooner, Community Centre Manager. “People who are interested in barista training will be able to spend some time in the cart before utilising those skills in employment.”
The new trainees will be sourced through the SHIFT Project, a local residential transition program supporting women at risk of homelessness.
SHIFT currently runs a hospitality training course in conjunction with Liberation Larder, as well as providing educational programs within a supported stable housing environment for women to ‘shift from disadvantage to confidence and a motivation for well-being’.
“This is a part of the holistic program that they will be offering,” said Cr Spooner. “We’re very excited to be able to get a venture like this up in this community, and we’re looking forward to a lot of support.”
Find out more about the SHIFT Project: www.shiftproject.org.au
Cr Paul Spooner speaks about the Coffee Box on Bay FM’s Community Newsroom: soundcloud.com/bayfm/20052016-coffee-box-dione-green?in=bayfm/sets/community-newsroom-20th-of-may-2016
About the author: Dione Green is a freelance journalist and reporter for the Community Newsroom on Bay FM 99.9, Fridays from 11 am-12 noon. Dione lives in Mullumbimby with her 10-year-old son and a very cheeky puppy.
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