Community hub in the centre of urban village

Cornerstone is more than just a cafe, it is a safe place for people to come and meet their friends, find help for their problems or just to use the superfast broadband.

Andy Blake, manager of Cornerstone, said: “Cornerstone is important because we’re here for them, we’re accessible, we’re a safe, non-judgemental space where people can feel that they can come in and be accepted for who they are.”

“We’re there to support our community by offering affordable drinks so that anybody can come in whatever their circumstances may be.”

Aside from reasonably priced hot drinks, the services offered by Cornerstone includes a pay-it-forward schemes on hot drinks and cakes, laptops for job searching and coursework, and a food bank.

“The needs of our customers and our community will change and I think by working with our community, by having a place where people can come in and let us know what their needs are as well, we are able to adapt to that to support the community in the best way we can,” commented Andy.

“We support our local community through the likes of food banks, we offer suspended coffees [a cup of coffee paid for in advance as an anonymous act of charity] and no questions are ever asked.”

It had humble beginnings as a smaller shop, run by St James’ Church, where people could go for a chat but also have a cup of tea.

“In the early 1990s St James‘ set up a charity shop called the Op-shop to raise money for a building project that we had,” said Keith Morris, a volunteer. “People would come in and [even if] they weren’t buying anything, they found that they were talking. For whatever reason, they found that being able to talk with the volunteers really helped them.

“We thought, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have somewhere for a cup of tea.”

They eventually bought, and remodelled, the site that the cafe now operates from.

Seven years later and the cafe has evolved to fit what was needed within the are,a which is how it has so many loyal customers and volunteers.

Ritchie Bowman, from Denton Holme, became a volunteer to give back to those who had helped him during a time of need.

Six years later, he is still helping the cafe.

Ritchie said: “I thought maybe I could repay them, I came in one day and asked about volunteering. Every day is different, so some days we could be quiet and some days we could be busy. You get to know people, which is good.”

Just as they support their local community, Cornerstone is supported by the people of Denton Holme too.

The shelves of the food bank are well-stocked as is the Op-shop, which sits just a little further down the road.

Bags of food, clothes, books, bric-a-brac and electrical goods are donated on a weekly basis, thanks to the generosity of the public.

Andy remarked: “We never need to put appeals out for it, we have such good strong support from our community that quite often our storage facilities are overflowing with stuff that we have to do a jumble sale in order to try and create more space.

“Likewise with our food bank, people will come in from the community with bags of food.

“We have not done an appeal for food but they know that we are here and we’re supporting the community.”

Spaces such as Cornerstone are taking steps to reduce loneliness and isolation among older people and those who may not be able to easily get out and about.

After seeing how other places have successfully used a sit and natter area to get people talking, Andy decided to set-up a designated space for customers who were happy to talk to anybody.

They are also making the cafe an accessible and inclusive place for everyone. On a Tuesday between 9am and 10am, the lights are dimmed and the usual background music is turned off to provide a space for people with autism to enjoy their morning free from a sensory overload.

Kerry Paterson, 33 from Denton Holme, has been coming to Cornerstone on a weekly basis for more than one year to meet up with friends.

She said: “We just love being able to meet and chat, and let the children play with the toys while we have a catch-up.

“I meet my friend here every week and we come during autism hour when it’s nice and quiet and the drinks are a bit cheaper. We feel like we’re not being pushed out and we can stay as long as we like. We know a lot of people that we bump into here so it’s just a nice community feel.”

Other community groups use the cafe and conference rooms. It is used for board meetings, craft groups, veteran support, children’s activities, counselling, and councillors surgeries.

“We can help people who want to set-up a business, if they need books for craft we can provide that, we are able to give away free sanitary products in our toilets, we can offer food parcels” said Andy.

This bustling and energetic centre is a sign that community spirit truly isn’t dead.