A chain of cafés that is intended to ease the homeless and the socially excluded back into society opened its first venue in London on Monday.
The 25-seat Café Arlington in Soho will serve 100% organic, GM-free and Fair Trade food, with half of its eight-strong staff coming from the ranks of those helped by the Novas Group, which is behind the venture.
Novas provides services, accommodation and training opportunities for about 15,000 people a year, including the homeless, drug and alcohol abusers, young people and former offenders.
Profits from the cafs will be ploughed back into the group's work.
One staff member is 22-year-old Olu Emmanuel, whose criminal record has thwarted
his efforts to find a job. "Caf Arlington has given me a chance to get back into the workplace and learn new things," he said. "It will also help me get my own accommodation."
More Caf Arlingtons are scheduled to open before Christmas - at Blackfriars and Tower Bridge in London, and in Liverpool.