Gaia Giving

Gaia Coffee is a community coffee shop there to support the well-being of all of our community. We become a community hub dedicated to supporting people to improve their mental well-being and building a more cohesive and resilient community. Social isolation has been causing detriment to our communities for years. We tackle this by opening our coffee shop as a social/ community hub 6 days a week. We know all people have value and skills but no one can do and achieve everything, by working together to create a strong community where people help each other, we can create a better place for all to live. We have well-being baristas who work in our shop to provide support and guidance as well as signposting to other services. Sometimes people only need to be heard. Sometimes people need a bit more practical support, that could be with using IT, simply getting to the shops, or support with parenting worries. This support is out there when you have strong connections within the community and that is what we are building. Everyone who comes to the community coffee shop benefits from the experience and receives support and a kind and welcoming experience as soon as they enter. As well as providing generalised well-being support and signposting to our community we run more specific projects such as work experience placements, especially for those struggling to gain employment such as young people and those with learning disabilities. Bothered a peer-to-peer support group and safe space for all men, boys, and non-binary people to talk about their mental health, supporting one another to feel part of a community. Winner Street Walkers is a weekly walking group led by a volunteer helping people walk back to health, with many benefits such as meeting new people, improving fitness, and improving mental well-being. We also get people involved in doing art projects, poetry evenings, and book clubs.