This is a first in the history of the foundation of the Salvation Army in Belfort: the association which helps the most precarious is opening a restaurant in Belfort. The brasserie, located at 53 faubourg de Montbéliard, offers dishes from Monday to Friday lunchtime homemade from fresh and local products, with starter-dish-dessert formulas at 14 euros. Cultural evenings are also organized every second Thursday of the month. The idea is to enable people who are far from employment to train in catering professionswhile emphasizingcultural exchange through exhibitions, artistic encounters and themed evenings“.
Integration through employment
Nokoto Delcurie, employee of the Salvation Army, and in charge of the management of the brewery L’Expo, where five people far from employment have been recruited, recognizes that the approach may seem surprising : “it’s not our core business, but integration is our core business”.
The idea is therefore to go further, she explains: “the people we help to find accommodation and food, what do we do with them afterwards? We must also help them to work and to integrate into society. We provide them with training and a return to work. They are given a foot in the stirrup so that they can find a more stable job, and what could be better than a job in catering in trades that are recruiting. Sometimes it is enough to remove certain obstacles to employment, such as childcare problems. Some do not speak French, we will accompany them“.
Open to others once a month
A cultural evening is also offered for customers and employees on the second Thursday of each month: “The idea of the Salvation Army is to say that it is not because one is in precariousness that one cannot open one’s mind to culture. The idea is not to shut yourself up in your discomfort but to open up to others” concludes Nokoto Delcurie.