Organisation’s new cafe for good cause
South Aucklanders will soon be able to help disadvantaged members of their community simply by buying a cup of coffee.
Friendship House in central Manukau is remaking its cafe and chief executive Neil Denney says money earned from the enterprise will enable it to expand its services to people in need.
The business, which should be open by July, will be called Cause Cafe and will sell coffee for just $3.50 a cup, Denney says.
‘‘We’re changing the footprint of the cafe. We’ll have a bigger counter, different types of cafe food, and an espresso and cappuccino machine.’’
Denney says large windows that open out onto the adjacent public square will be installed and furniture and umbrellas erected so customers can sit outside.
The house is South Auckland’s largest provider of domestic violence-prevention services and is funded mainly through contracts with the Ministries of Social Development, Justice and Corrections.
Its Living Without Violence programme caters to almost 300 men a week, compared to about 230 a week this time last year.
The course is for males who are mandated to attend by the courts or probation service. People can also do it voluntarily.
‘‘We’ve seen an increase in the number of men self-referring to the programme,’’ Denney says.
‘‘We’re also seeing a lot more mothers phoning and saying their son or daughter needs help.’’ Demand for the course is so high that the house is now offer- ing it at other sites, including in Papakura, and on weekends.
In February it began running the course for year 9 and 10 male school pupils in South Auckland.
‘‘Hopefully it will expand to girls for the next school term,’’ Denney says. ‘‘It’s exciting for us as it’s an area we wanted to move into. We’ll write up a case study and then roll it out … when it’s got some data behind it.’’
Denney says the new cafe will enable the house to move toward a social enterprise model, so it’s able to support itself rather than relying on contracts.
The organisation also offers sustenance to rough sleepers who spend time near its premises.
‘‘We’ve got more homeless people in the square now than we’ve ever seen,’’ Denney says.
‘‘We give them a hot drink and food if they haven’t had something to eat and refer them on to other agencies.’’