Project notes: Starbucks Youth Cafe, Epsom, Surrey

Goals: To reduce antisocial behaviour and provide young people with a safe environment

Funding: Surrey County Council's Youth Development Service, Epsom and Ewell Business Partnership, and the local crime- and disorder-reduction partnership. The costs are subsidised by Starbucks.

While Friday nights may mean party time for young adults, under-18s often find themselves with nothing to do and the suburb of Epsom is no exception. Every weekend it suffers from street vandalism because, as Kevin Gargini, youth affairs officer at Epsom and Ewell Police, explains: "Young people have nowhere to go."

So the arrival in January 2004 of the Starbucks Youth Cafe provided a welcome alternative. The cafe, a partnership between Starbucks, the local youth service and a number of other local agencies, was the idea of Sarah Pemberton, a member of Epsom's youth forum, YELL. It involves the local branch of the coffee giant remaining open to 13- to 17-year-olds on Friday evenings from seven to 10pm. The cafe offers the young people a warm and safe place to go where they can relax and socialise without alcohol or cigarettes.