Community cafe in Lynemouth officially opened by Morpeth charity Calmer Therapy

Calmer Café, on Albion Terrace, is run by the non-profit organisation Calmer Therapy, based in Stobhill Community Centre in Morpeth, which supports adults and children with disabilities, additional needs, or mental health difficulties.

The cafe will be taking on members of staff and volunteers in the new year and provides a range of community services.

Calmer Therapy founder Donna Swan said: “The cafe came along and we thought we were going to have to take it because we are finding a big need for those with a disability, especially a learning disability, wanting to get work experience.

“We already have staff with disabilities working for us at the community centre doing childcare so we thought this was an ideal opportunity for catering.”

She added: “We wanted to run it as a community cafe because we know Lynemouth is quite a deprived area and poverty is higher than the national average.”

Calmer Café has plans to provide cheap and healthy meals, including to take away or for delivery to elderly residents in the village.

The organisation also has Christmas hampers to give away to people in need and hopes to run family cooking classes on the site.

The cafe will serve cheap hot drinks and free soup throughout the winter as well, and allow people to use the cafe as a warm hub to save on their bills at home.

It hopes to tackle other issues such as men’s mental health and dementia with regular coffee mornings.

Donna, who is 45 and from Bedlington, said: “I get the feeling that it is very much needed in the community so it is going to be good to get new members.

“In Stobhill we see just under 300 people a week at the moment. An average of 80 people a week access our food bank services so it will be nice to bring it here as well.”

A lot of the charity’s work in Stobhill has been about helping children with undiagnosed disabilities to get the support they need, as it can have a “massive” impact on people’s lives.

Donna said: “It has been nice to help them and get them the support in place, and I am hoping to do that here as well.

“That is why they are still in poverty, because what you find is that the parents are also disabled and undiagnosed.

“They cannot get jobs, they have not been able to get an education. It is just a vicious circle.

“They do not identify that their children are [disabled]. They do not get help at school because they are labelled as just bad lads from bad families.”

The cafe has been helped by £8,000 of funding from housing provider Karbon Homes.

Philip Pollard, from Karbon, said the firm was “thrilled” to support Calmer Therapy’s “amazing services.”

He added: “The cost-of-living crisis is still affecting so many people so it is important that vulnerable residents and people living in poverty are provided with services like this, particularly over the winter months.”

Calmer Café is open 8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, excluding Wednesday, and 11am to 3pm on Sundays.