A barista training course for London’s homeless

Change Please is betting on the love of takeaway coffee to help improve the lives of the growing homeless community in the UK

Spotted: Change Please, the social enterprise that works to provide an income for homeless people, is aiming to reduce the number of homeless people in London by training and employing them as baristas. 

Change Please estimates that the average Londoner purchases two cups of coffee per day. By 2020, 100,000 barista jobs will be created in the UK as a result. To meet that demand, the social enterprise trains the homeless as baristas.

The programme is taught by professional baristas. Trainees are then employed to sell Change Please coffee at events and street-side coffee vans. Change Please pays the participants a living wage and offers them support to find housing. 

The Change Please coffee blend has gained popularity amongst big supermarkets after winning a 2017 taste award. The coffee is now available for purchase at Sainsbury’s stores.