James goes to work...

We had a great day yesterday and worked a shift at the Crossroads cafe. It was a great opportunity to get behind the scenes and spend some quality time with some other residents. Each resident working in the cafe had their own responsibility according to their length of stay and how well they have been doing within their time at Delancey Street.  It seems as though one of the common key points of this model, and a reason for its success, is how busy they keep the residents. Not only do they have a main job i.e. cafe manager or grill chef but on completion of a shift they often go to work again in a different business such as the restaurant.

This provides residents with a varied skill set, good experience and work ethic ensuring they leave Delancey Street employable and equipped to succeed.
After talking with the residents working in the cafe it was very interesting to see firsthand how controlled and disciplined each and every resident was and how they operate within what appears to be a very strict regime. They appear to enjoy the regime and choose to be busy as they feel it’s an important part of their development. What time they share together is family time and they start each and every day with some fun, such as a short presentation from peers, book reviews and singing happy birthday etc. Each Sunday they sit down for a meal and together they celebrate every public holiday increasing their understanding of cultures and social education.

The more time we spend here the more magical Delancey Street becomes and we have already began starting to work on our replication models. I’m figuring we need a few acres of land and approx £10 million!! Can anyone lend me 50p please?

On a social level we had one of the best Chinese meals ever last night in a small restaurant opposite the Delancey Street cafe. There is at last some amazing food in San Francisco and the American Cab drivers seem to be our best resource!! We then went into the city and ended up in a Karaoke bar, Keith sprung into action and took centre stage for what turned out to be a great evening. Today we are splitting up and I am visiting the school programme and Keith is spending time at the removals business, tonight we are speaking to a group of new intake. Great day ahead! 

Posted: 15.07.10 16:12