U-Turn Homeless Ministries are giving homeless people a second chance at life, by training them to become champion baristas.
With the help of Red Band Barista Academy, the NGO that gives people the tools they need to end homelessness has teamed up to provide ten of the program's "Champions" with barista training.
Carmen Dickinson, the U-turn placement officer who oversaw the training, says: “U-turn is all about empowering people to take agency over their problems and walking alongside them to offer support as they recover from homelessness.
“This training will be significant for our Champions and will be the catalyst to helping our champs find employment and graduate from the programme,” she says.
The Champions will receive training at U-turn's Charity Shop at Access Park for a week.
Shaun Aupiais, the CEO of Red Band Academy explains: “Our aim is to restore hope, give people a purpose and help them enter into everyday life and make a living.”
Following the training, they will be placed in a work shadowing learnership, where they may put their newly acquired skills to use.
They will be certified baristas after a formal evaluation, enabling them to enter the open market for work.
Reggie Dickson, one of U-turn's Champions, is almost done with the program and has already secured a possible job interview.
“When I started the programme, I felt hopeless, I felt that there’s nothing left for me to do in this life but with being in the programme, going through the modules, going through the training, it made me realize that my purpose hasn’t yet been completed and there is still hope for me,” Reggie says.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za
Daily Voice