Caritas Cafe returns

Friday 21 June 2019

The Caritas Community Cafe has opened its doors once again following months of closure.

The cafe in Mill Street is run by the Caritas Community Charitable Trust, backed by a dedicated team of volunteers.

The cafe is open to everyone and can offer a cup of tea and a listening ear to those going through a difficult time.

"The name Caritas means 'welcome and forgiveness'," explained Cafe Manager Angela Hedley. "The premise behind it is anybody, regardless of circumstances, problems or background is welcome to come into the cafe. Even those who may be in a situation whereby they can't afford to pay for their meal are welcome. We will feed them, give them a drink and give the any support that they require in terms of if they need access to services or housing, we will give them details of people that will be able to help them."

Pictured: Caritas Cafe customer Sally Davis.

The cafe has been open since 2012, but had to close temporarily late last year while changes were made.

"The trustees and the previous management were moving in different directions," continued Ms Hedley, "so it was decided that they would close the cafe, bring everybody together and ensure that everybody was pulling in the right direction."

After five months of closure, the Caritas Cafe is now back up and running between 08:30 and 14:30 daily.

"At the moment we're open seven days a week. That, to an extent, depends on how willing people are to support us," Ms Hedley added. "We can't expect volunteers to come in on a Sunday and only have one customer over the entire day. It is not fair to them. If we get the footfall, if we get the business, we will continue to do that. If not, then we will do Monday to Saturday and have Sunday off."