There is a small coffee shop tucked away in Covent Garden that serves up more than a hot beverage of your choice.
Called Neal Street Espresso, it was set up by The Message Trust to help prison leavers who found Christ inside London's prisons resettle back into the community.
"This social enterprise started as a response to something our team saw -- that revolving door of people on council estates coming in and out of prison," says Ruth McBryan, The Message Trust's Prison Resettlement And Outreach Manager.
"Currently our prisons team are in 12 prisons across the UK and two of those prisons are in London. And we found that when people were leaving prison, they had no hope, no job, no employment."
That's how Neal Street Espresso came into being. Because employment was what people leaving prison needed to give them hope and a stable future.
So after a lot of fundraising through 2019, they finally opened in February 2020. Full of dreams. Full of hope.
3 weeks later, COVID hit. And London was locked down.
"But we weathered the storm and have been fully operational now for about three and a half years," says Ruth.
Neal Street Espresso's main aim, their main purpose, is to break that cycle of reoffending. It's more than just another job. When prison Prison leavers join Neal Street Espresso, their job title is "Team Member" and they're given a fresh start.
"We're there to be temporary scaffolding, a support structure," Ruth explains.
"The aim is that when that's removed at the end of two years with us, people that come through our programme are ready for the next stage.
"It's getting our guys to a position when they leave us that they can then move on to a longer-term job, working out what they want to do, helping them apply for jobs, look for jobs and with the aim that they keep that employment."
More than just practical care, this two-year apprenticeship also nourishes each team member's faith. It is a discipleship programme as well as a social enterprise that provides employment.
"It's about keeping the faith of our guys. It's about discipling them. It's about their roots growing firm and deep in Jesus," says Ruth.
"We also provide monthly counselling because many of our team have had so much trauma from childhood, right through to their adult lives."
From teaching team members how to budget, and open bank accounts to encouraging a hobby, whatever it may be, Ruth and her team will encourage prison leavers to dream of their future and put goals in place to achieve it.
The coffee shop celebrates milestones and markers throughout each team member's time with them — even birthdays and Christmas —with presents and cake.
"And for some of our guys, that is the most alien concept, because no one celebrated them like this before," says Ruth.
"But we can't be everything to our team members. We need them to be part of a church for their growing faith and community, but also for longer-term support when they leave us.
"Our hope at Neal Street Espresso is to see our team's faith grow and roots deepen in Jesus. We hope that our guys will be able to trust us more and more. We want to see them thrive in a local church. We want to see them stay out of prison and leave their past in the past, find a normal job and a routine and a lifestyle that is stable and secure."
Ruth also realises what is idealistic and what is a gritty reality. There's a lesson for her team members in everything from how they react to things, to working hard to earn money.
"A good day can look like no outbursts when they've felt disrespected, and that could be from fellow staff members, or it could be from a customer," she explains.
"Or sometimes they might get a difficult phone call from a friend or family and they haven't allowed it to ruin their day."
Progress may be slow. And sometimes it may feel like nothing is changing. But Ruth can see the difference Neal Street Espresso is making in the team members over time.
"Positive moments are often smaller and not always memorable immediately. But we see their confidence grow with barista skills, dealing with customers," Ruth reflects.
"We see their faith grow. Whether it's sharing something they read in the Bible and got excited about or being bold enough to pray out loud in a meeting.
"It's someone resisting a drink socially as they know that decision could lead them back down the road of drugs or violence.
"It's overhearing in the kitchen, one team member giving advice and Christian counsel to another. It's seeing the team members sharing their faith and story with customers."
The work at Neal Street Espresso is like the father in the prodigal son's story in Luke's gospel. Accepting no matter what. Welcoming back no matter what.
Ruth is often asked if she finds this job hard. She does. And it's not what most people would necessarily choose. But for her, it's a calling.
"And I have to remind myself that on hard days I do love what I do. And often my hard day is nothing in comparison to what these guys have gone through or what they could be going through."
Neal Street Espresso is a place where lives are shared, where the love of Jesus is central to why they do what they do.
Through countless coffees made and sold, people are heard and supported. Words are backed with actions, as Ruth and others weep and laugh with each team member, challenging their actions and praising their victories.
They serve more than coffee at this cafe. They serve up true hope, redemption, and an opportunity for a better life.
Oh, and they say recidivism rates around the UK hovers at around 75%. For the people who've come through Neal Street Espresso, that rate is so far at 0%.
Praise God for that.
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