Café supporting people with learning disabilities needs help to stay open
Sea Change, a South Tyneside cafe and arts venue that provides sustainable employment to people with autism and learning disabilities is facing the prospect of closure due to extortionate energy costs.
Alongside energy costs multiplying 360% from £300 a month to £1,100 the café also recently received a back-dated £20,000 energy bill.
The café owner Sarah Farrell- Forster speaking to the BBC said of the dilemma: “Times were tough anyhow, but to receive this was another blow.”
The cost of many ingredients have also doubled, forcing owner Sarah Farrell-Forster, who set up the cafe five years ago, to consider closing.
Farrell-Forster however is not quite yet ready to close the doors and has created a Crowdfunder in an effort to keep the café open and continue training people with autism and learning disabilities.
The page opens with the message…
“We love our café, and we are proud of what it represents to our community, but the reality is that Sea Change is facing financial challenges, and without support, it will simply not survive.
“We are a non-profit – any money received through donations helps pay for our overheads and ongoing training costs for our neurodiverse staff and volunteers.”
