MILK: 10 years of supporting migrant and refugee women
Founded in Govanhill in 2015, MILK began as a social enterprise café and has grown into a vital community space supporting refugee and migrant women, offering care, connection, advocacy and free wellbeing activities in a welcoming, volunteer-led environment.
Gabby Clunes and Angela Ireland standing in front of the MILK space on Cathcart Road
By Gabby Cluness | Photos by Alison Johansson
MILK was set up in 2015 by Angela Ireland and I – two bosom chums from the far flung corners of Scotland, who had made their home (happily) in Govanhill. The initial concept was for it to be a social enterprise cafe that supported women from a refugee and migrant background through front of house training and English lessons. Both of us had been volunteering in various projects supporting people from a refugee or migrant background, and were interested in working with folk from this demographic.
We opened the doors with very little in the way of experience in running a social enterprise, but with (what we believed to be) limitless enthusiasm, a billion hours of waitressing experience, and hordes of very kind family and friends who were willing to plug the sizable gaps in our knowledge and capabilities.
It was quickly established that due to the dinky size of the space, and the complicated schedules of the women using the project, MILK was not as suitable a platform for accessing employment as we had hoped. Instead, the cafe revealed itself as a space where women and their families felt comfortable and cared for; a place where they could practice their English and have a chat with friends over a cake (which they may or may not have helped to bake).
MILK cafe was often 3/4 filled with non-paying visitors. And, within the first year or so we had established our financial model was creative at best. So we launched the catering branch of MILK at 378 Cathcart Road, which has sustained us (often quietly) from the start – providing our offerings to many Glasgow-based businesses, organisations and events.
MILK Cafe (RIP) was a changeable beast which saw a few different iterations, but at its heart was always (we hope!) a cosy and generous space that welcomed everyone, and as such had a unique atmosphere ranging from delightful, to the soft-play from hell – depending in the day. Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis really did a number on us, as did the approach of our 40s and the shift that brought to our enthusiasm for 12 hour shifts without having a drink of water.
By this point we had six full-time staff members working between our Victoria Road premises and our Cathcart Road catering kitchen and collectively we made the decision to close as a cafe and become a full time community space funded largely by our catering endeavours, with another chunk coming from funding streams. We were confident that the previous eight years could prove to funders that we were a valuable resource to many different women in our community, and have been fortunate enough to be correct in this assumption.
Last year the empty unit beside our catering space became available. Delighting in a challenge, we decided to jump ship from Victoria Road and hope that our community came with us. Thankfully they did and we now reside at 378 Cathcart Road, in a beautiful, spacious and fit-for-purpose new venue, built in large part by the folk in our community.
MILK (not-a-cafe) continues to prioritise women from a refugee or migrant background, offering a timetable of free activities to support their mental health and wellbeing. Sometimes this is by simply providing an accessible, warm and welcoming space where women can meet and share experiences with others. Peer-led advocacy is a central component of what we do here; by helping to build on people's strengths and connections to ensure that they can, in turn, help others build on theirs.
All of this is made possible by the frankly jaw-droppingly wonderful team of volunteers and paid staff who make MILK what it is. We have come so far from the early days of the two of us doing it all, sometimes naively, and it is beyond lovely to now have so many creative, smart, talented colleagues and participants from whom we can learn and improve.
The anti-racist and anti-misogynistmisogonist work we do at MILK is more crucial now than ever; it feels like the already slender resources for minority groups grows ever thinner and the attitudes towards them becomes more ignorant and hate-filled. We are highly aware of the increasingly gruelling day-to-day life that many of the women we work with experience, just simply trying to exist in this country.
In a place where so many public spaces and organisations in the UK are deliberately hostile to refugee and migrant people, safe places like MILK are essential.
If you are able to offer your time, then please get in touch as we welcome new and enthusiastic volunteers to support our community.
If you would like to support MILK, or similar organisations supporting refugee and migrant women, please check out the great work of:
