“RESTORE,” Ian Howard is happy to explain for anybody who doesn’t know already, “is a locally-based charity that restores people.

“We work with long-term unemployed people and those unable to access the workplace as the government hoped they would.

“We provide work experience and self-esteem, and teach people how to handle stress, how to speak to each other, how to develop new skills and confidence.

“That’s one strand. The other is to build community, which is where the café comes in.”

It’s also where the organisation’s shop comes in, selling furniture, books, music, household goods and other items at affordable prices.

Restore is a branch of Swindon Christian Community Projects, which also runs the Swindon Foodbank. It has three full-time staff, three part-time and usually between 15 and 20 volunteers.

As well as serving the community, Restore is environmentally conscious.

Mr Howard said: “We’re stewards of the earth. We go to the tip once a week and see the stuff people throw away, but the stuff we put into landfill is stuff that’s really reached the end of its life.

“Our scrap metal, wood and plastics are recycled. Clothes we don’t sell are recycled.”

Both Mr Howard and Carrie Grant are Christians. Former teacher Mr Howard has been a churchgoer since childhood and made his formal Christian commitment while at university.

Carrie Grant, whose career in catering has included running her own café, found her faith later in life.

She has clear plans for the café and how it will fit in with the Restore ethos. “What I’m aiming to do is get some volunteers in,” she said. “We’ve got one and we’re going to work on getting more over the next couple of weeks.

“They’re going to work alongside me and another lady who is the other supervisor, for the next six months and be trained in café work.

“At the end of the six months they’ll have certificates showing what they’ve achieved, and also references.”

The aim, she explained, is that when the volunteers move on they’ll be able to break a vicious circle which can prevent people from securing paid work, no matter how enthusiastic they are.

“If people have been unemployed for a very long time, it’s hard for them to get paid work because it’s hard for them to show they have the necessary skills,” she said.

“What they do here will be like a normal job, with the same rules and regulations.”

The aim, as with other Restore volunteers, will be to equip people with valuable work skills and the confidence to convince potential future employers of those skills.

Mr Howard added: “The way my faith works is that I’m there for the underdog, for somebody who is in an underprivileged position.

“Jesus teaches ‘Blessed are the poor’ and we are instructed not to ignore those in need.

“A lot of our volunteers just need somebody to believe in them, somebody who allows them to make mistakes without kicking them out, somebody who can give them a second chance.”

Some of the volunteers are young people in search of the skills they need to launch themselves on to the job market.

Others are people who have been away from the market for a while, perhaps while raising families, and who need to update their skills and boost their confidence.

Volunteers are always welcome and the pair promise even the most nervous of people will discover they have nothing to worry about.

“They should come along,” said Mrs Grant. “Everyone here seems to enjoy it – we’re like a big family.”

Mr Howard added: “They gain confidence here. If someone’s confidence is low and they have an interview they’ve blown it before they walk in the door.”

The organisation is also in need of another kind of volunteer – people with the necessary time and life experience to become mentors. If they have skills such as cooking or gardening, so much the better.

Restore also plans to open a workshop where people can be trained in skills such as woodwork.

The duo both find immense job satisfaction in their roles.

The best moments? Mrs Grant remembers one in particular: “It’s when a volunteer achieves. You can see they’re so proud and their confidence is growing.”

Mr Howard’s happiest moment at Restore came recently, when the charity organised an ambitious community gathering called Party in the Parks.

“We did it last Saturday, and as I walked out into the car park, and to Cavendish Square and to the car park at the Co-op, I saw all the different things going on and heard the rapper blaring out his music.

“I walked out there and saw the sun shining, people enjoying themselves and a community being built.”

Restore is open every weekday from 10am until 4pm.