In Case You Haven't Heard…

Abstract

A good news story that aired last week about a diner that employs people in recovery or who have been previously incarcerated has made the news this month. New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) reported on Fold'd Community Diner in Somersworth, formerly in the space called Teatotaller Café, opened by locally based nonprofit SOS Recovery. “There's so many barriers for people in recovery, for people coming out of incarceration, and one of them is employment,” said SOS Recovery's Executive Director, John Burns, in the NHPR story. “So I feel like it's our duty to break down those barriers. And what better way than create jobs ourselves?” The project received start‐up funding of $250,000 from Granite United Way, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Kennebunk Savings Bank, according to Burns. The owner of Teatotaller said he's glad the location can remain an eatery that is based on being sober. Having a supportive, alcohol‐free workplace run by an organization that can connect employees with recovery resources “just gives them that foundation and that stability to really thrive, said Burns. “Restaurants do fill — sort of informally — the gap of services [for] folks that are looking for work early on in their recovery, or coming out of some form of rehabilitation or incarceration,” he said. “But it's not an overt mission, and no one necessarily talks about it.” For the story, go to https://www.nhpr.org/nh‐news/2023‐10‐31/new‐somersworth‐diner‐offers‐a‐fair‐chance‐for‐workers‐in‐addiction‐recovery.