A new cafe in Gloucester Road aims to provide employment to those who have recently been released from prison.
The Key Cafe aims to act as a bridge between prison, employment and rehabilitation to reduce the risk of reoffending.
Officially launched with a preview at the end of April and opening to the public this month, the café is in a former Ministry of Justice building between The Golden Lion and the Sainsbury’s Local.
Suzanne Thompson, CEO and founding member of both the Restore Trust and The Key – Unlock Potential, charities that support those leaving prison and other vulnerable people, told the Voice the idea was to provide wrap-around support for those leaving prison who would otherwise struggle to hold down a job (if they could even get one) due to negative self perception, as well as the stigma of being an ex-offender.
She said she recognised the need to create transitional paid employment placements after speaking to prisoners about what they might need upon leaving.
“Many said that they had the intention to work and contribute, but lifestyle factors often sent them back into old ways,” she explained.
The Key Cafe and retail space will sell speciality coffees and cakes, and “bespoke handmade products produced on the premises of Bristol prison”, such as Jail Jars jam. The café is one of the first of its kind in Britain to focus on the concept of ‘transition’.
“It will be a commercial cafe in the truest sense, but with that social value behind it,” said Suzanne.
Operating in collaboration with the jail in Horfield, the cafe will provide placements to two or three ‘beneficiaries’ at a time, typically for about three to six months. Candidates will be identified while still in prison as those who would best maximise the opportunity. Working with staff from Restore, the aim is then to move them into permanent employment once they have developed ‘soft skills’ and got used to the structure of a working day.
Asked what the response has been from local residents and businesses, Suzanne said: “We held a lot of community forums in the early days, but now people are getting really excited and we’ve had lots of local support asking how they can sponsor or help in other ways.”
Suzanne’s wish is that the cafe will reduce stigma and barriers in the community , as well as breaking down the barriers in the employees’ heads and giving them a sense of pride and identity – and a second chance.
To find out more about the cafe and its wider work, visit www.thekeybristol.com