INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS - Tina Suter

 team leader with Cornmarket projects in Wexford talks about the recently opened Kafé Konnect which is an initiative from The Cornmarket Project.

The Cornmarket Project in Wexford is leading the way in terms of a new programme aimed at bringing an end to the cycle of criminality, offering meaningful rehabilitation to those who've committed crime and a chance for real closure for those who've been victims.

Initially launched as a pilot programme, the project's Restorative Justice service has been operational since, but having seen such positive results, it received both funding and recognition from the Department of Justice in 2020.

Many of those preparing the food, making the coffees and washing the dishes at Kafé Konnect have difficult backstories to tell. Having obtained criminal convictions or having battled back from the brink with addiction, the staff of eight, for one reason or another, have found it difficult to reintegrate into society; to access the labour market; to hope for the future. Tina talks about the value of social enterprise and its value in helping people and giving them a sense of work to get the back into the community. 

https://www.kafekonnect.ie 

https://www.wld.ie/the-cornmarket-project/ 

Originally broadcast on Saturday 4th November 2023 as part of Saturday Chronicle.  Hosted by  Geraldine Colleran and Marianne Purcell.  Saturday Chronicle is kindly sponsored by James M Nash and Co and Derg Kitchen Design   http://dergkitchendesign.ie