A new café in Moncton, N.B. has been designed to give its employees an opportunity to combat homelessness and mental health barriers.
The Inspiration Café acts as both a second chance for people struggling with mental illnesses, and a safe haven for people to rehabilitate their lives, learn new work skills and regain confidence.
Emma Blair is one of those employees behind the counter.
"I have actually experienced a lot of mental illness in my life. I struggle with severe depression and anxiety,” she told CTV Atlantic.
She’s grateful for the community she’s found there and is thrilled she has an outlet for her love of cooking and creating tasty new treats.
"When I read the job description, I honestly almost cried because I thought, 'this is perfect, this is meant for me,’” she said.
The café is located in the basement of the city’s Community Peace Centre where employees can be tasked with washing dishes, making cappuccinos or even cooking up a hot meal.
The café’s program manager, Rachel Scoville, boasted of the positive effects the place is having on its workers.
"One of our employees, Maddie, she says, 'I love working here. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning, to come to work,’” Scoville said. “Those words are so endearing to hear every day."
Homelessness and mental illness are strongly linked to people’s employment prospects and job performance, the Canadian Mental Health Association says. Last November, the federal government began funding a program aimed at reducing homelessness in dozens of communities across the country.
Scoville said mental health issues had prevented some of her employees from working over the past several years.
“[Some] have struggled finding employment due to their anxiety, depression, various other health conditions they might have,” she explained.
The café is open every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Nathan Boulter, who lives with anxiety, said the daily work routine is helping to prepare him for a future, full-time job.
"It just helps me start my day a bit better than say, sleeping in ‘til noon,” he said.
Boulter has been slowly easing out of his comfort zone by volunteering at the United Way and the Canadian Mental Health Association. He implored other New Brunswick residents dealing with mental illness to give the café a shot.
"If someone who has a mental illness wanted to work here, it would be a perfect opportunity to gain experience at working,” he said.
