Coffee Afrik CIC

Coffee Afrik CIC is a grassroots focused community-based organisation operating in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Harrow & Enfield. We are led by 8 employees, with an equalities, rough sleeping, EDI training and mental health focus and all are experts by experience. Our work is aimed at building the capacity of marginalized communities and individuals to create the change they want to see by empowering them at grassroot levels, with co designed culturally competent pathways. Our values stem in building inclusive, positive, and open community relations, with a key focus on supporting citizens from the diverse working class.

We create social action safe spaces which are inclusive for all by ensuring as many people as possible have an interactive and dynamic community experience, a real sense of purpose and a strong feeling of belonging. At present we are overseeing 5 safe spaces, which are – managed by our overview and scrutiny committee, who are made up of LBH/Tower Hamlets/Newham residents and have SMI, are rough sleepers, SEND and from the LGBTQI+ communities.

We oversee several projects focused on mental health/substance misuse recovery, housing, income support, culturally competent referrals and have contracts with ELFT, EW+S, Equally Ours and UKHSA et al.

Our main achievements include the following –

1. First ever mental health focused culturally competent community café, serving homeless people, DV survivors and those with addictions. This format provided ADDER pathways and was supported by Peabody Housing Association.

2. MoneyGram, global award in 2019, for CSR work in the community, presented to us in Belgium, for ADDER type work.

3. We co produce social action safe spaces, using trauma informed and person centred principles, with COP models embedded into our pathways, based in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Harrow & Enfield.

4. The UK’s first ever Somali women members food coop launched 3 years ago, working with Fareshare/Felix Project, serving Somali elders.

5. 22 funders since launch, running 8 projects at present.

6. The UK’s first ever mental health digital project substantially funded by The National Lottery in 2020, led by a Somali Female Psychologist, using our culturally sensitive referral pathway model. Peer to peer, trauma, art, music therapy.

7. We worked through the pandemic, providing food parcels for 6981 clients, collected 1256 medicine parcels, carried out 2287 befriending at safe distance visits.