The Clink Charity to open Manchester café
The Clink Charity has revealed plans to open a new café in Manchester, which will offer training to both ex-offenders and the homeless.
The café will open in mid-April in the Grade II-listed Canada House, Chepstow Street, owned by LJ Real Estate.
Clink was formed in 2009 to reduce re-offending rates by offering practical training to inmates.
The new Manchester café will train Clink graduates as well as homeless clients of the Centrepoint Charity, supporting them to work towards a City and Guilds NVQ Level 2 in Food and Beverage as well as offering barista skills.
Chris Moore, chief executive of the Clink Charity, said: "We are delighted to be opening the Clink Café and to be partnering with a landlord like LJ Real Estate, which shares our values. Our Clink restaurants have proved incredibly successful and the café will give us the opportunity to continue the training and provide our graduates with the chance to achieve their full potential.
"Working with Centrepoint, as we do with Clink Events, allows us to expand the great work both charities do to help those who need a second chance."
Sam Lawson Johnston of LJ Real Estate said: "We are very excited to welcome the Clink Café to our building. They do exceptional work in giving people the opportunity to thrive and they will be a valuable addition to the community of businesses in Canada House and the local community."
The cafe joins four Clink restaurants at HMP High Down in Sutton, HMP Cardiff, HMP Brixton and HMP Styal in Cheshire, with plans for more across the prison estate.
Al Crisci launched the first Clink restaurant at HMP Sutton, since when more than 500 offenders have succeed in the catering industry through full training, mentoring and support.
According to a report conducted by Justice Data Lab and the Ministry of Justice in 2016, prisoners going through the Clink programme are 41% less likely to re-offend compared to prisoners of a similar circumstance who had not benefited from the scheme.
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