A couple of people record a podcast against the back wall.

Comfy chairs surrounding a low table quickly fill up while a quiet card game breaks out at an adjacent table.

Each person enjoys a beverage and snack.

As midday nears, the stack of fresh muffins and brownies dwindles and sandwiches start rolling out of the kitchen.

A pleasant buzz fills the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, one that was missing for a while.

With Victoria Foundation funding, the Second Chance Cafe quietly reopened last month, but clearly it wasnsa国际传媒檛 quiet long.

The room packed with smiles is the greatest reward for head baker Toni King.

sa国际传媒淚t gives me chills just thinking about it, sharing what Isa国际传媒檓 feeling inside with other people,sa国际传媒� she said.

King is clearly all about sharing laughter, even on serious subjects she sees the lighter side sa国际传媒� and shesa国际传媒檚 seen some serious stuff.

In 2015 King woke with sa国际传媒渢he worst headache ever.sa国际传媒� It turned out to be a brain stem aneurysm that robbed her of four months of her life sa国际传媒� among other things. She doesnsa国际传媒檛 remember it, but had actually called 911 herself.

After an emergency flight to Vancouver and several surgeries, King returned to Victoria General Hospital for a few months before waking.

Time was just one thing the injury took.

sa国际传媒淚 actually became a statistic,sa国际传媒� King said. She could no longer work as an operating room technician, and ended up separated from her wife sa国际传媒� winding up alone in a new place.

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Then someone from Brain Injury Services at The Cridge Centre for the Family came along.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檝e given all the support I needed to get back on my feet. It has been life-changing for me. I could just be sitting on the couch withering away to nothing,sa国际传媒� King said. sa国际传媒淎s soon as I got into the Cridge program it gave me direction and purpose and here I am living every minute of it.sa国际传媒�

Among the support was a cooking course that spurred her latest career sa国际传媒� with baking at the cafe just her most recent role. Feeding people makes her happy.

Geoff Sing, manager of brain injury programs for the Cridge, boasts the cafe has the best baked goods and wonderful social setting. The program assists about 80 brain injury survivors across Greater Victoria, he said.

sa国际传媒淥ur role is working ourselves out of a job,sa国际传媒� said Sing, also a survivor. sa国际传媒淚f we invest in survivors early wesa国际传媒檙e going to have better outcomes.sa国际传媒�

In a partnership between the District of Saanich and The Cridge Centre for the Family, The Second Chance Cafe is fully led and staffed by survivors of brain injury.

Statistics show survivors of brain injury are more likely to experience homelessness, poverty and addiction, so programs providing job training, employment, and fulfillment are crucial.

The cafe offers an opportunity to retrain and develop skills, explained employer development coordinator Bryan Rowley.

sa国际传媒淭he idea is that theysa国际传媒檙e moving along a spectrum from a place of not working, to a place of starting out here getting their juices flowing, getting their work muscles flexed and then moving on to other things. Thatsa国际传媒檚 the end goal,sa国际传媒� Rowley said.

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Having the business at a municipally-owned community centre also opens the wider community to opportunities for engagement, interaction and understanding.

Opening an eatery sa国际传媒� and creating a partnership between district and non-profit sa国际传媒� involves some heavy lifting. Knowing the potential kept Sing and Saanichsa国际传媒檚 Deanna Roch on the task developing hours, menus and roles.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e putting people back into the community that are survivors of brain injury. Their life is literally turned upside down. I sit there as a human being and couldnsa国际传媒檛 even imagine. But I also sit there as a mother and that was the piece for me for some of the stories,sa国际传媒� said Roch, privy to some of the stories shared through the course of developing the cafe. sa国际传媒淪ometimes yousa国际传媒檙e in the wrong place at the wrong time thatsa国际传媒檚 all it is, and you have a life-changing experience. sa国际传媒� This gives people the opportunity to be a part of something and contributing to societysa国际传媒�

A 19-year Saanich employee, Roch took a posting at the Cedar Hill centre almost exactly a year ago. Immediately her goal was to return foods service to the centre, but how it might be done differently.

sa国际传媒淚 have programmed preschool, Isa国际传媒檝e run swimming pools, weight rooms, you name it. But I have never operated a kitchen,sa国际传媒� said Roch, who did lean a little on her husband, a chef in his previous career.

The endeavour was worth the extra effort. Raised in a family where sitting down for dinner was mandatory sa国际传媒� the community centre connection appeared evident.

sa国际传媒淚n the community everybody has to eat, you sit down and break bread, itsa国际传媒檚 the heart of the community. To me, the recreation centres are the heart of the community sa国际传媒� wesa国际传媒檙e able to nurture it in a different way,sa国际传媒� she said.

The shared vision is coming to fruition.

Instead of popping in and running off again, or a hurried conversation in a parking lot, folks are following class with a visit. Others are planning it. And while patrons are learning a bit about the brain injury survivors, programs and the Cridge Centre, theysa国际传媒檙e also finding themselves.

For example, Roch recently ran into a woman snapping a picture of the menu.

Naturally, she naturally engaged the woman in conversation and learned she was rushing off to get her aging husband to his appointments. Inspired by the cafe to take the time to sa国际传媒渟it with the girls,sa国际传媒� the woman had snapped the photo as a reminder to start scheduling in time for herself.

sa国际传媒淪hesa国际传媒檚 really lucky that she does have that community around her,sa国际传媒� Roch said.

Sounds like the kind of story that might give the head baker the shivers.

The grand opening of the Second Chance Cafe at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre is Dec. 1 at 10 a.m.

Learn more about the Cridge Brain Injury Services at cridge.org.