A SECOND hand furniture shop in Blackwood is making a difference in the local community by providing training for young people and feeding homeless people, amongst other endeavours.

Based in the High Street, Pre-Loved Furniture is a registered charity which sells used and refurbished furniture as well as running a small café .

Owner Susan Glendinning said: “We are really making a difference in the community.

“We provide training and experience for those who often cannot get this anywhere else, due to having special needs or challenges, for example.

“We also feed homeless people with a good, free meal. We welcome donations to help us do this.

“We offer classes on decoupage, upholstery and furniture up-cycling so that people can create beautiful projects of their choice.”

She said they are about to train their volunteers so that people with dementia and their carers can visit their “lovely and friendly” café for a little social interaction.

“We also help young people gain workplace qualifications, as they learn to sand, paint and repair furniture,” she said.

“Volunteers gain skills in cooking, serving in our café and serving customers on the shop floor, for example.

“A new idea is partnering with another project to enable carefully chosen offenders to gain qualifications to turn their lives around, whilst helping young people to turn away from drugs.”