A new community café is set to arrive this summer in Millbrook providing wellbeing support alongside tasty treats and drinks.
The café is part of a joint partnership between Abri, one of the south of England’s largest housing providers, and Colne Avenue Baptist Church. And Abri has awarded £22,000 from its Partnership Funding to support the project.
Lucy Davis, Community Development Officer at Abri, said: “There’s no space in Millbrook for the community to come together without a specified or paid for activity taking place. And there are very few services that run and directly serve Millbrook; most support services can only be accessed in neighbouring Shirley or Southampton. This is often a barrier for many people in Millbrook, leaving them unable to access the support they require. This new café will offer a hub for people to gather and provide wellbeing support, whether that’s mental or physical wellbeing.
“We’ve been working with Colne Avenue Baptist for four years on projects for the community, including our popular Good Grub Club, which helps tackle food inequality and social isolation by bringing families together during half term and get involved in cooking some tasty 'good grub' and taking part in fun activities. It’s all part of our £15m five-year community investment to create thriving communities and empower lives.”
Pastor Chris Davi MBE, from Colne Avenue Baptist Church, said: “Engagement within Millbrook can be difficult, which is why we are working with Abri to create somewhere for the community to go, to socialise, to create a sense of community cohesion, and engage with the support services they may need. The church wants to become a centre of community for the estate, a place where trust and friendships can flourish.”
The café will be located in the church, and will open from mid-June, when work to upgrade the kitchen is completed. It will be open initially two days a week (Mondays and Fridays) from 10am-4pm. Once it has been up and running for a few months, opening times and days may be adapted based on what the community needs.
Partner organisations will be hosting activities at the café based on what the community has asked for, such as health and wellbeing sessions, and activities to bring the community together.
If you would like to find out more about the café, please contact Lucy Davis, Community Development Officer for Abri at lucy.davis@abri.co.uk or 07779 565929.