Making a difference, one coffee at a time

Until 2016, Brodies Coffee Co was a camper turned “coffee making bean machine” and its founders, Ian and Danni Brodie, travelled around Wales. Now, it is one of Cardiff’s smallest cafés: a tiny cabin in the Gorsedd Gardens, with a gazebo and a few tables outside. When the weather is not too bad, you can sit there, sipping a coffee and enjoying the view of the recently reopened park.

In the years working at Brodies, Ian has witnessed the city change. “We’ve been in the Gardens for almost three years now. Sometimes, a homeless person would come, and I would offer him a hot drink, have a chat with him… I became friends with a few. One of them eventually found a home and a job and came back to tell me about his new life. I was very happy for him.”

Last winter, things took a turn for the worst. Ian says he noticed a sharp increase in the number of people sleeping rough in the neighbourhood. The winter was brutal, and many were struggling to survive. In January, he launched a new initiative: a suspended coffee scheme.

Customers can either pay for a suspended coffee or donate the free one they get from their loyalty cards, and each donation is recorded. The reaction from customers is overwhelmingly positive. “Many of them told me it’s a great idea. It’s free and easy for them – they’ll just give their free coffee – and I can help the neighbourhood while supporting my business.”

Coffee and creativity: The Little Man Coffee Co.

Brodies is not alone: a few local businesses have come up with their own initiatives to support the community. Sometimes, these arise out of necessity.

The Little Man Coffee Co., on Bridge Street, offers its own special suspended coffee scheme. Rob Cooper, the owner, calls it “Suspended Coffee 2.0”. “I’ve always seen The Little Man as a place where people can come to work and be creative. In addition to the shop, we also have a space where groups and organisations hold meetings and events. Many of them have been with us for two years, meeting every week… Our Suspended Coffee was born for them.”

The Little Man’s Suspended Coffee 2.0 began in 2018. In principle, it works exactly as usual: a customer donates a coffee and marks it on a big blackboard on the shop’s wall. The recipients, in this case, are the charitable groups that meet in The Little Man Garage, an events space in Riverside.

“It is a tough call to make, of course; we are managing our customers’ donation and we need to decide if a group is worthy of people’s kindness. We try to support those people who give their time for free, providing them with a neutral space and helping them save some money with our suspended coffees.” For Rob, it’s a way to support people who work donate their time and energy to worthy causes.

The Little Man was also a partner in The Big Issue’s development programme and still holds one-to-one training sessions with the vendors. Rob thinks it’s important for local businesses to be involved in the community.
“We’re more like ‘the middle man’”, he jokes. “We provide the space for people to meet, hold events and help others. We’re also a safe space where vulnerable people can come in, sit down and feel comfortable. We play an essential part in these projects”. To Rob, it’s important to have a positive impact on the neighbourhood. “I’ve grown very fond of Cardiff; it is a really good city. And I like to see good positive things happening around me. That’s what I try to do with The Little Man – make good things happen.”

Ways of giving: Give DIFFerently

Private sector involvement has been central in Cardiff council’s efforts to tackle homelessness. In addition to bringing in more private landlords in social housing provision, the council also took part in fundraising initiatives. Last year, when For Cardiff – the local Business Improvement District – launched the fundraising scheme “Give DIFFerently”, the council donated £5,000.

Give DIFFerently is a diverted giving scheme sponsored by For Cardiff, South Wales Police, Cardiff Council, The Big Issue Cymru, The Wallich, Community Foundation in Wales, Huggard, the Salvation Army, and Public Health Wales. It piloted in March 2018, with a contactless payment point set up at the Hayes, followed by another pop-up donation spot by the Library Hub around Christmas. People could donate £2 just tapping their phones or credit cards; at Christmas, some businesses also offered gift cards.

Funds would be collected by the Community Foundation in Wales, and organisations and charities could apply for grants up to £750. These would go directly individuals and fund initiatives aimed at reducing or preventing homelessness, such as training and education or help with financial management, according to the fund’s criteria.

No donation points are currently available, but the scheme is still running and should enter its second phase this year. According to Beth Thomas, Head of Partnerships and Programmes at The Big Issue Cymru, the first grants are now being awarded. She says the initiative has been successful so far, though she admits there are still no mechanisms in place to measure the outcomes. The campaign won the “Best marketing and branding scheme” award at the National Association of Town and City Management & Awards night. Beyond this accomplishment, there are still no official documents or announcements on the results achieved.

A controversial campaign

In January, the campaign came under criticism as, allegedly, the costs for setting up the payment points exceeded the donations received, according to documents seen by BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service. These costs were entirely covered by For Cardiff and not by donations, according to the initiative’s website. By December 2018, the campaign had raised £9,500, of which 5,000 were donated by the Council, but allegedly cost £12,000 to set up. The original documents could not be retrieved for verification.

In the 2017 financial year, For Cardiff, the city’s Business Improvement District, spent almost £35,000 on “Homelessness and begging”, its management report reveals; how much of it went into Give DIFFerently is unclear. The organisation refused to comment on this figure.

Some local charities that were initially involved in the project later withdrew their endorsement expressing concern. While acknowledging local authorities’ good intentions, Shelter Cymru and Crisis South Wales warned the conditions made it very difficult for homeless people to access funds, unless they were already engaged with support services. In a joint press release, the two organisations encouraged councils to address the causes, rather than the symptoms, of homelessness.

“We definitely need to engage with other sectors, but then we’ve all got a responsibility to make sure they’re educated and well-informed, and that we’re not reinforcing those negative stereotypes and perceptions”, Rebecca Jackson, policy research officer at Shelter Cymru, says.

These resources, they maintain, should instead being invested on making assistance more accessible to those in need. Encouraging the public to direct their giving away from people sleeping rough could reinforce negative perceptions.

Partnerships involving local government, charities and businesses can enrich and empower communities. However, sometimes competing interests and priorities can create tensions; the presence of tents in the city is one such sticking point.
The council, as well as some charities, assert that as long as people live in tents, they will not engage with the outreach services. Business associations, including For Cardiff, maintain the presence of tents affects trade and may threaten the welfare and safety of residents, visitors and workers.
For Cardiff has expressed its support for the council’s decision to remove abandoned tents and push people who are sleeping rough to engage with the support services.