Listening cafe receives funding from town council
A new community cafe for Oswestry has been given a grant to help it grow.
The Pebbles People Services has set up the listening cafe within the Liar Liar premises in the town centre, currently open one day a month.
Oswestry town council at its last meeting agreed to a grant of £1,500 to expand its activities.
Councillors praised the work of those behind the Community Interest Community, Anna Robson and Vikki McAuley.
They told the council about the success of the cafe, which meets on the last Friday of the month.
"Our listening cafe is an opportunity for the community to join us in a relaxed setting where we enjoy hot or cold drinks, play board games, do creative activities and encourage open conversations and community bonding," Anna said.
"The aim is to help people meet new people, strengthen relationships they have already established and built networks of their own."
"We can provide a listening ear as well as a point of contact for information, advice and guidance should they be struggling."
Those who are already enjoying the listening cafe, she said, include working professionals who need to offload their stresses, young people struggling with their mental health, sexuality, identity or general worries, along with their parents who are struggling with how to best look after young people and their own mental health.
"We have also connected with a number of organisations and professionals who feel our listening cafes are and could be a valuable resource for their clients."
The grant should, Pebbles People Services, said, cover the cost of running the listening cafe for six months, from providing hot and cold drinks for people who can not afford it to providing and recycling board games to renting the pace for the listening cafe.
"We started the listening café to bring people back together after two long, lonely years of lockdowns and give our community a space to talk about how they’re really doing.
"We have played hundreds of games, drunk far too many coffees, and have met lots of inspiring, resilient people throughout the last year."
