Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In Broadmeadows we love our coffee and we love giving support to young people and to people with disabilities to gain skills and experience for employment and for life. That's why I'm delighted to welcome our area's newest social enterprise, the Bean and Brite Cafe. Located in the Hume Global Learning Centre in Broadmeadows, the Bean and Brite Cafe is a partnership between Banksia Gardens Community Services, the Brite organisation and Hume City Council. The cafe offers training and employment opportunities for young people and people with disabilities. It also offers amazing coffee and delicious food. At Bean and Brite, employees can gain vital work experience in what may be their first paid job, helping them further develop their skills in a real-world environment. The new cafe joins an existing stable of dynamic social enterprises in the area, including Banksia Gardens' Common Bean cafes, located at Kangan TAFE and at the DPV Health GP clinic, and the Brite Cafe on William Barak Boulevard at the Northcorp Industry Park.

Like its hospitality siblings, the Bean and Brite Cafe is about inclusivity and creating opportunities. It's about tailored support, quality training, breaking down barriers and helping people to reach their full potential. The cafe, through its partner organisations, will tailor training programs to develop essential skills in cafe operations, customer service, food preparation and teamwork. Each team member receives personalised support to ensure that they develop transferable skills, experience and confidence to participate in further work, training or study. The experience team members gain will help nurture a sense of accomplishment and pride in professional development.

All these social enterprise cafes serve as hubs for social interaction and meaningful connections. Specifically, the Bean and Brite Cafe operates within the Hume Global Learning Centre, a busy hub that also includes the Broadmeadows public library. By welcoming both staff and patrons from diverse backgrounds, the cafe helps promote social inclusion. The Bean and Brite partnership is a shining example of what can be achieved through cooperation between dynamic local organisations.

Banksia Gardens Community Services is a wonderful organisation that has developed a raft of innovative support programs primarily targeted at young people at risk of disengagement from the education system and struggling to enter the workforce. Brite is also a great organisation that I have worked with for many years, dedicated to support, inclusion, training and employment for local people with a range of disabilities. It makes so much sense that these groups would come together to maximise their skills, commitment, passion and outstanding human capital to build this enterprise, and I want to congratulate Hume City Council for its support of this great project.