In the new year, Pulp Friction’s main operating base is moving from Bestwood Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters (NFRS HQ) to Bestwood Park Community Church (BPCC) Community Café due to the closure of NFRS HQ.
We have worked with Bestwood Park Church for over 4 years now. Our Kitchen Manager Teresa works at the church weekly making and serving meals through the community initiative BesTop Kitchen. Several of our members have worked at BPCC with Teresa, preparing meals and meeting and greeting members of the community who attend the meals.
In 2021 members visited BPCC to do guerrilla gardening with Beth, to brighten up the outside of the church. We also used BPC as our meet up point for our trip to Drayton Manor.
The Community Café at BPCC will mirror our premises at NFRS HQ, a relaxed environment where members can learn new skills and improve existing ones. The day to day running will be like that of NFRS too, members will make meals for themselves and customers. Food for outside orders including conferences and buffets will also be prepared on this site. Morning meetings will still take place and members will have multiple short work sessions throughout the day and break at BPCC. Both the catering team and learn and grow team will operate from these premises.
Every morning everyone who is at Pulp Friction on a given day will report to BPCC first thing in the morning at 9.30 and take part in the morning meeting. Everyone will need to arrange their own transport to get here in the same way they have organised transport to get to NFSR HQ. If Pulp Friction members are working at one of our other premises, they will travel there with Pulp Friction.
NFRS HQ is closing because a new Joint Headquarters is opening where both the Fire and Police staff will be located. All our customers from NFRS HQ are moving to the Joint Headquarters (JHQ) site in Burntstump.
A new building has been built for the move and in this, there is a canteen being built just for Pulp Friction! We have recently employed a new canteen manager who will run the canteen Monday-Friday. We will be sending members to the canteen daily to work shifts 10.30-2.30 in the canteen.
Working in the canteen will give members insight to a faster work pace serving up to 200 customers a day! Members will get to use all the skills they have learnt and developed at NFRS HQ and the Community Café in the canteen at JHQ. There will be members of staff to support members working at JHQ, expectations of our members will be higher at the canteen than at the Community Café and we will not introduce members to this work environment until we know that they are ready.
Whilst working at JHQ staff will monitor progress in the same way they do at NFRS HQ, when we feel members are working independently and completing their jobs to the standard expected in employment, they will be nominated for our Supported Employment Scheme which will launch in 2023 (dependent on canteen profits). Our aim is to move members on to internal Supported Employment when they are ready, this would be alongside one day as a member. On their day as a member (minimum of one day), we would give feedback on their shift and work on any skills they need to improve. When they are confidently and consistently completing all tasks, we will begin to look for employment outside of Pulp Friction. Pulp Friction will work alongside employers to support members in their new jobs.