Signposting at a Talking Café

When people come along to a Talking Café, they can expect good company and meaningful conversations with other guests and friendly hosts. They are also a good opportunity to help someone find what they are looking for in the community.

One such person was Lee (not his real name), who is a former refugee now settling in to Nelson. He was encouraged to come along to a Talking Café for a cuppa and to make new connections. Since Lee is still learning English, it was helpful for him to know that the Talking Café had friendly hosts who would make sure Lee had a good experience despite his limited language skills.

The hosts warmly welcomed Lee and one of them settled in to have a chat with him at a pace he could enjoy. During their conversation, it came up that Lee was a big fan of sport and of basketball in particular. He really enjoyed playing basketball, and wished he had an opportunity to do that somewhere in Nelson.

The host immediately pulled up the Found Directory on her tablet and searched for basketball groups in the region. Sure enough, she found one that looked like a good fit for Lee and sent the listing to him as a text directly to his phone.

Lee was pleasantly surprised: ‘Sometimes my shyness gets in the way of doing things I like. I was very surprised when I went to a Talking Café in Nelson to find a basketball team to join. With the help of the people there who were so helpful and friendly.’