Invited guests gathered on Monday for the launch of The Usual Place venture in the former Townhead Church on Lover’s Walk.
It comprises a not for personal profit cafe, meeting and events space designed to provide a range of opportunities for young people with additional support needs to develop employment skills.
Amy Wright, chairman of Inspired Community Enterprise Trust the organisation behind the café development, said: “In opening The Usual Place we are opening the doors to a wealth of possibilities to show that young people with additional support needs can achieve career goals.
“It’s about seeing the ability within the disability.”
The cafe has many features that make it fully accessible, including a state-of-the-art automatic toilet donated by Geberit.
Dumfries councillor Colin Smyth is thrilled at the revamp of the former local authority property.
He said: “The real transformation is the work taken place inside. Not only have Heather and Linda attracted significant investment in the building itself, but new jobs have been created to provide training for young people with additional support needs, change the life’s of the young people involved.
“This a project Dumfries can be really proud of and is what we mean by town centre regeneration.”
Wishing the team well, Maureen McGinn, chair of the Big Lottery Fund Scotland, said, “This cafe is already having a real impact on young people in Dumfries, giving them the chance to get valuable work experience and gain qualifications which help them move on to employment, education or training.”
