Hull Cafe Opening its Doors to Help the Homeless
Inspired Cafe on George Street in Hull is opening its doors to those sleeping rough in the city to help offer support as well as food and drink.
The charity run cafe in Hull city centre is the first in the city to run a "pending" food and drink scheme.
That's where customers can donate money, which is then put towards buying a homeless person a hot drink or some food.
Viking FM spoke to Dave Edeson, who's running the café. He says he got the idea from social media, and discovered the pending coffee scheme in Italy.
Inspired Café offers these to those who are living rough on the street and others who may be poverty-stricken. They are even starting a voucher scheme, so it's easier for those in need to come forward and discreetly claim the "pending" refreshments.
The café's also got a strong community ethos, where they aim to provide help and support, as well as activities which link to the unique "inside garden" theme.
Dave explained to Viking FM how it's already a success:
'It's a way of encouraging people to come in for some hot drink and food. But then there is so much more support that we can give them. And from that point on we are trying to move them forward.'
'We can create so many more opportunities for them. All of our individual skills, we can try and put a holistic package together. We can create a link wherever they need to smooth out their pathway.'
'If we had a cafe full of people, the person that’s suffering from poverty doesn’t have to come in and feel embarrassed coming in and taking something away for free.