Training café at Te Tuhi

Te Tuhi Café is Aotearoa’s first training café for people with intellectual disabilities, run in partnership with Rescare Homes Trust and the School of Psychology at The University of Auckland.

The café provides in-house training and paid employment for people with intellectual disabilities through a community-based programme.

Rescare Homes Trust provides supported residential accommodation and vocational support for people with intellectual disabilities, to enable more independent living. Each participant will have a personal training plan designed by The University of Auckland, with their goals and targets, which will be used to track their progress and development. 

Training cafés for people with intellectual disabilities are common in the United Kingdom, where Te Tuhi’s Executive Director Hiraani Himona became familiar with the model. On her arrival at Te Tuhi she identified the gallery’s café as an ideal context to implement this, and connected with Rescare, who were looking for new opportunities for their service users. Hiraani has brought in consultancy from the Bede Centre, who run a training café for people with intellectual disabilities in London, and with whom she worked while at the South London Gallery. 

The café project is a non-profit social enterprise. We welcome donations to support this initiative. To learn more about the project, click here.