Serving great cuppas – and the community

Charity launches employability cafe

A ‘JOLLY’ good launch by Boris Johnson MP helped a hillingdon charity open its new employability cafe.

The Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip Boris Johnson praised the service at Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support (HACS) which runs the cafe in Uxbridge to give work experience, training and skills to help people lead more independent lives.

The Foreign Secretary officially opened the project at the Brookfield Adult Learning Centre, joined by Hillingdon councillors, the HACS team and people who work at the cafe.

Former Mayor of London Mr Johnson said: “I know what a wonderful job HACS does and what a fantastic service this is for people who want to learn, to develop and have fun in all sorts of ways.”

“Is this a fantastic cafe?” Mr Johnson asked the crowd, who resoundingly answered with a chorus of “yes”.

“Yes it jolly well is,” Mr Johnson said before officially opening the cafe.

HACS has a similar cafe at the Rural Activity Garden Centre in West Drayton called the Rural Tea Room.

There are 22 people currently participating in the cafe project and so far seven have gone on to find secured paid jobs.

HACS is now extending the service to 40 young adults thanks to funding from Hillingdon Council and organisers are looking for local businesses to offer work experience opportunities to adults with autism.

Chief executive of HACS Antoinette Mullally said: “Less than one in six autistic adults are in full-time employment, yet we know that people with autism want to work and contribute to society.

“We are working to close the gap between autism and employment and make employers aware of the valuable skills people with autism can offer.”

Employers interested in helping HACS can contact enquiries@hacs. org.uk.

We are working to close the gap between autism and employment