Re:Source is a community-driven, purpose-built furniture re-use and training centre based in Cornwall. The organisation is a subsidiary of national charity Addaction, which works with people from varying backgrounds to help them tackle drug and alcohol problems. Victoria Noakes takes a closer look into the company’s activities ...
Social enterprise Re:Source is the daughter company of one of the UK’s largest addiction treatment charities, Addaction, which helps individuals, families and communities in England and Scotland recover from drug and alcohol issues. Addaction service users join others from the local community in attending Re:Source work experience placements with the aim of boosting their skills for future employment and helping them gain confidence and experience, in order to rebuild their lives.
Re:Source offers valuable work placements for people from all walks of life in carpentry, electrical repair, administration, transport, retail, sales and customer service-focused roles in a safe environment. It aims to help address the cause and effect of social exclusion in Cornwall by supporting individuals, promoting community cohesion, alleviating poverty and encouraging environmental responsibility.
The organisation collects, cleans, repairs, refurbishes and sells unwanted furniture, appliances, bikes and other goods. The items that it collects help to fund the organisation’s aims as well as providing a real working environment for people in the local community.
Re:Source has two shops in Cornwall selling unique one-off pieces of furniture incorporating the latest styles and trends, traditional wood pieces that have been built to last, and more. The organisation also works with partners to support people in the community experiencing financial difficulties to get the items they need to maintain a basic standard of living for their family.
A great example of the training and support that Re:Source offers is the 10-week programme that it delivered with Cornish mental health organisation Pentreath, which helped people gain work experience and assistance back into employment. The group consisted of seven people – some of whom had been claiming Employment and Support Allowance for over 10 years – all tackling mental health issues.
Sue, an attendee of the course, found the programme a challenging but positive experience, and has been given a optimistic outlook: “It has built up my confidence. My hope for the future is to go back into work and I feel great about that. I think this programme will have helped to make that happen quicker.”
Another attendee, Jenny, also recounted her time on the course positively: “I was impressed with myself, considering it was the first time I had done woodwork. It was a sense of achievement that I don’t generally feel in my day to day life – that’s why it has been good to be here, because I can say ‘I did that!’.”
The Re:Source Vintage range enables volunteers and trainees at Re:Source to take part in a creative process from start to finish. Each item of furniture has been cherry-picked, from a comprehensive collection, for its individuality or a focal point.
The volunteers and trainees in the Re:Source workshop learn a number of finishing techniques under the careful instruction of an experienced cabinet maker in order to achieve the highest quality finish for their painted products, including preparation, sanding, priming, denibbing and finally a top coat application.
The premium vintage range is sold through the organisation’s own website – www.resourcevintage.co.uk – as well as through eBay, Etsy and Remade in Britain. The Re:Source Vintage store is open from 10am-4pm from Tuesday-Saturday, and can be found on Church Street in St. Austell, Cornwall. What’s more, the main Re:Source training centre is open to the public seven days a week, and is based at Bodmin Business Park.
