Good Coffee Doing Good

Good Coffee Doing Good is a project-based initiative in which we partner with impact-focused enterprises both local and global and is fuelled by our Golden Rule Espresso Blend. 

Through the sales of Golden Rule, we raise funds for meaningful organisations and projects, donating $4 for each kilo sold across our retail and wholesale operations. 

You can find out more about the inspiration behind the blend or shop the coffee!

We’re incredibly proud to announce our latest partnership is with StreetSmart - a not-for-profit in the homeless sector providing support for smaller community-based and grassroots homelessness and community services. 

StreetSmart

StreetSmart was founded by Adam Robinson in 2003. The aim of founding StreetSmart was to play the unique role of simultaneously raising vital funds for these important smaller local organisations, strengthening them through collaboration and connecting them to their community and helping break down inaccurate prejudices about people experiencing homelessness. To date, StreetSmart has supported over 1100 community partners and still operates at a local, grassroots level to fund critical services. 

StreetSmart knows local leaders, volunteers, and community groups are best placed to identify what support their communities need and have solutions and mechanisms in place that work for them and their community. These front-line services are often under-resourced, have limited fundraising capacity, and find making formal applications for funding challenging. StreetSmart listens to their ideas and needs, and supports them to deliver critical services and change. Collaboration and listening are core to their community impact, and they deeply respect the vital work of frontline workers. 

Mission

StreetSmart responds to and prevents homelessness in Australia because they believe everyone should have a safe and secure place to call home. They have been operating since 2003 and have since raised and distributed $11.5 million to over 1100 homeless projects. 

By raising funds and awareness to support smaller, grassroots organisations, StreetSmart brings about change for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Their community grants fund various responses to the homelessness and housing crisis, including: emergency accommodation, food security programs, tenancy support, material aid, youth and young parent support, legal service, and much more. StreetSmart supports these organisations to plug funding gaps, support core programs, and enable them to innovate and test new ideas. 

StreetSmart's approach to solving homelessness recognises that homelessness sits at the intersection of many personal vulnerabilities. They distribute support and funds back into the regions in which they were raised because, after 20 years of creating place-based impact for those most vulnerable, they believe this is a powerful way of ensuring sustained change. 

The Housing Crisis

Australia is facing a chronic and deepening housing crisis. Reports find historic lows of affordable housing availability (less than 1% of available houses were affordable to those earning minimum wage) and unrelenting rent increases, up 11.5% from 12 months ago. 

The cost of living and rental crisis are placing people in extreme financial stress, as they struggle to feed their families, keep a roof over their heads, or access safe accommodation after losing their home. It is near impossible for vulnerable people to find a rental property in Australia with vacancy rates below 1%, forcing many to seek unsafe shelter in cars, tents, caravan parks, on couches with friends, or in motels. 

StreetSmart's community services are experiencing high demand and are seeing many people in work seeking help for the first time. This increasing need for support from people in all walks of life is stretching their community services to breaking point. 

Community partners report increasing numbers of families and people who need to sleep rough or turn to unsafe and insecure accommodation like hotels, caravan parks, boarding houses, and cars. 

Making a House a Home

Securing any type of affordable housing is incredibly difficult, especially for those on a low income. But when affordable housing is eventually secured, it is crucial that people are supported in making their house a home and avoid going into immediate debt when purchasing essentials like furniture, white goods, or kitchenware. 

For people who are fleeing domestic violence, recovering from natural disasters, or moving into accommodation after experiencing homelessness, these types of essential household items are items they just don’t have. Setting up someone for tenancy success is a vital part of any homeless support service but funding for household items is hard to come by. 

Through their Making-a-Home initiative, StreetSmart’s grants to frontline homeless services give people the best possible chance of a successful new start. Funds are used to purchase everyday items such as: white goods (fridge, washing machine), furniture (beds mattresses, couches, dining tables chairs), kitchenware (plates, glassware, pots pans, cooking utensils), kitchen appliances and food supplies (toasters, kettles, microwaves, and food), soft furnishings (bed linen, towels, curtains, pillows), household Items (vacuum, mops, brooms, cleaning materials), tenancy support (bill support, rent arrears, and emergency accommodation) and moving and delivery costs. 

Anne's Story

Anne* had been offered housing placements previously but had turned them down saying there were ‘people who need it more’. Streetsmart's community partners, and Anne's local housing support services, finally convinced her to accept a placement.

“Thanks to the support of the network behind StreetSmart, Anne did not just move into ‘housing’. Anne moved in with everything she needed to make a home. This included a refrigerator, a vacuum cleaner, a toaster, bedding, and more." 

*Name has been changed to protect confidentiality.

StreetSmart's Comittment 

StreetSmart supports local, grassroots initiatives from across the country to prevent homelessness in Australia. They work to prevent people from becoming homeless through crisis support and programs that encourage social inclusion, empowerment, employment, and sustainable change. 

Purchasing coffee from the Good Coffee Doing Good range will directly assist StreetSmart to help provide aid to vulnerable people through their innovative initiatives and programs. 

Your donation will directly support StreetSmart’s initiatives that: 

• Raise funds and distribute community grants to frontline homeless services to give people the best possible chance of a successful new start through their Making-a-Home initiative. 
  
• Provide ready-made meals to vulnerable people, made by food-based social enterprises as well as food relief organisations like community kitchens through their SmartMeals initiative. 
  
• Partnering with bedding and homewares companies to create Sleep Kits for people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness and give them the security of their own bedding to use while they’re in temporary or permanent accommodation via their SleepSafe initiative. 
  
• Support frontline homeless workers by offering psychologist sessions, mental health first aid courses, and self-care initiative to sustain services to vulnerable people through their SmartCare initiative. 
• Collect donations through cafes, coffee roasters, and corporate partners to provide a whole-of-community response to fund vital services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness through their CafeSmart initiative. 

How You Can Contribute

You can contribute by purchasing our Golden Rule Espresso Blend. $4 from each kilo sold will be donated directly to StreetSmart to support their powerful mission to prevent homelessness in Australia. 

We would like to thank StreetSmart and their community partners for their assistance in writing this article and for sharing these images with us. 

You can also donate directly to StreetSmart via this link here.