A Peckham roastery is hoping to scale up its barista training programme for the homeless and help 250 people next year.
Old Spike Roastery, which has already helped 60 homeless people, says it operates as a social enterprise.
The roastery started its training programme in 2014. Its co-founder, Richard Robinson, told SouthLondonLines: “We began our programme as we not only wanted to help people impacted by homelessness, but we also wanted to share knowledge and expertise around specialty coffee in the UK.”
One of the very first people it helped was Tom, who now works full time as a barista. He said, “At first I was very reluctant to kind of just accept all the help” but admits that he now enjoys serving people coffee everyday and he loves putting in the extra effort to make sure the quality is good. “I have a job because they still come in.” he said of his customers.
“We love Tom” says Robinson talking fondly about how much he has grown as a person.
Old Spike was one of the first speciality coffee roasteries to operate as a social enterprise. It launched in 2014 in Peckham Rye and has since expanded to Elephant and Castle and Piccadilly. With the belief that everyone should walk out for the store feeling a little better, whether it is because of the donation they made towards bettering another life or because of their training programme, 65% of Old Spike’s profit goes to reducing homelessness.
Old Spike has joined hands with many charities across London to get referrals about people who are homeless or have been impacted by homelessness. Some of these charities are The Connection, Centrepoint and The Baytree Centre.
The roastery also partnered with Change Please, a social enterprise that help the homeless by giving them training and jobs. Old Spike and Change Please work hand in hand to provide help. The programme lasts eight weeks and the trainees learn to do various things, including brewing, the popular coffee menu and resume workshops. They receive work readiness support and financial assistance along with accommodation, mental health support as well as post-training employment.
Once an employee is ready to go into the real world, they are giving work opportunities Old Spike works with their employment team to get the workers jobs.
Robinson said the training programme has been successful in reducing homelessness. “We helped over 60 individuals impacted by homelessness find employment, education or further training this year alone. We have a target of 250 next year!”
Not only is Old Spike committed to supporting the homeless, it believe in maintaining the quality of its products and being green. The roastery plants a tree for every bag of coffee it sells, with the help of Eden Reforestation Projects, which works with local communities to restore forests. Old Spike believes that this project not only boosts the quality of coffee that they are using but also helps the planet.
