Hope on the menu
Inside the award-winning Hopestreet Social cafe transforming the lives of vulnerable young people in Playford.
On the surface, it looks and sounds like any other suburban cafe – coffee machines hissing, customers chatting, laptops open and the smell of toasted sandwiches wafting through the air.
But for just a few hours each day, Hopestreet Social in Davoren Park becomes something far more powerful: a safe haven that is quietly changing young people’s lives.
The cafe is one part of the extraordinary work being done by the team at Hopestreet, which has spent the past decade supporting at-risk young people across the Playford region. Each week, the organisation connects with more than 220 young people through drop-in youth sessions held everywhere from skate parks and the Elizabeth Aquadome to the café itself, where donated food is cooked for warm meals and vulnerable young people are offered something many have never truly experienced – safety, consistency and community.
Founder Bekk Shaw says despite being enormously proud of the work her team does, she never imagined Hopestreet would take home the Enriching Children’s Lives Award, sponsored by Firefly Children’s Foundation, at the 7NEWS Community Achievement Awards.
“We hang out at Elizabeth – we don’t go to places like that,” Bekk says.
Even during the gala awards night, the work continued.
“I was on the phone to the youth hub because there was a crisis happening while the awards were going on,” she says.
“But it was amazing (to win), and especially when all the other nominees in the category are doing incredible things too.”
Winning the award has brought greater awareness to Hopestreet’s work, with fellow community organisations reaching out to collaborate.
“Now we’re part of the conversation, we get to sit at the table,” Bekk says.
One of her greatest joys is something many people might take for granted – seeing young people become “food safe”.
“It’s such a little thing, but knowing we can give them three meals a week gives them some stability in their lives,” she says.
Youth unemployment remains a critical issue in the City of Playford. In Davoren Park, 61 per cent of young people are unemployed – eight times higher than the Adelaide average, according to the State of the City report.
In response, Hopestreet Social has partnered with Mark Oliphant College to run a free barista training program for students who are disengaged with school .
Already, 55 young people have completed the program, learning practical skills including coffee making, customer service and cash handling, while also developing confidence, social connection and a sense of belonging.
Bekk hopes the model can one day expand far beyond South Australia.
“I would love to see lots of safe spaces (across Australia) for kids to be able to go – at different times and in different places,” she says.
For one young woman, who spent much of her childhood in residential care, Hopestreet became life changing. She later told Bekk the organisation had saved her life.
“She said it was because she finally had somewhere to go – a community – and not just people who were paid to be with her,” Bekk says.
“That’s the difference I’m really passionate about. We provide consistency and community. Care workers can come and go, but this place stays.”
If you’d like to support Hopestreet’s work, visit www.hopestreet.com.au
