Tom Gordon MP Visits Artizan Café

Last week, Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough visited Artizan Café and creative space in Harrogate, where he met with some of the wonderful team including the UK Director of Artizan, Liz Cluderay.  

The charity does amazing work enabling, empowering and supporting people with disabilities to meet their full potential both in the UK and abroad.  In Harrogate, Artizan Café and creative spaces provide hands-on hospitality training, work experience, and creative craft workshops for those with disabilities. Internationally, Artizan’s Craft Centres and Cafes in Ecuador and Peru offer training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities who would otherwise be living in extreme poverty. These centres and cafes play a transformative role, not only in the lives of the disabled people involved, but also in fostering positive community attitudes towards disability. 

During his visit, Tom and Liz discussed key issues, including ways Artizan can be further supported in the community, potential funding opportunities, and how Tom could work alongside the charity to ensure greater visibility and inclusion of young disabled adults within the local economy and society. The latter is especially important to the charity as they aim to empower people with disabilities to showcase their talents to their communities and thereby be recognised for their abilities, rather than their perceived disabilities.  

Commenting on his visit, Tom said: 

‘I had a wonderful time at Artizan Café in Harrogate. The café has such a warm, welcoming atmosphere, and it is clear that Liz and her team are doing incredible work in supporting people with disabilities to reach their full potential. It was truly inspiring to see this impact firsthand.  

‘I was also grateful for the opportunity to learn more about how the charity supports disabled people in Ecuador and Peru. People with disabilities in developing countries are often marginalised, excluded from employment, and forced to live a life in poverty. Without fantastic organisations like Artizan, this cycle of poverty and exclusion would be extremely tough to break. 

‘I look forward to working with Liz and her team to support their mission and help create even more opportunities for individuals with disabilities to thrive within our community.’ 

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