The Plate Up Project
Sadly a topic that is often left in the dark. Domestic Violence. An ongoing cycle, closely tied to a lack of financial independence and often resulting in homelessness. A confronting reality for one in six women.
‘The Plate Up Project’ ,
is a homelessness and domestic violence initiative launched in
Melbourne to offer people fleeing domestic violence and experiencing homelessness a hand up,
not a handout. The Project assists its students to gain new cooking, hospitality and employment skills.
The Plate Up project is an initiative driven towards a sustainable future for women feeling trapped by the clasp of financial abuse. The project offers women a way forward by providing a ten-week program to gain certificates in food handling and Responsible service of alcohol.
Where it all began
The Plate up Project was conceived, implemented and managed by Donna Stolzenberg; Founder
and Director of National Homeless Collective.
Beginning in 2015, what set the Collective apart from
many similar charities was Donna’s lived experience with overcoming hardship and disadvantage
through homelessness.
Donna identified the complexities and multi-facet barriers that women face on a daily basis when trying to leave an abuser and seek employment and designed a program to combat these barriers.
The Partnership
Left Bank Melbourne works closely with the Plate up Project, aiming to provide a safe and understanding work environment for women to gain hospitality experience after completing their ten-week course, which leads to stable employment situations for sufferers of domestic abuse. This decreases the likelihood of individuals returning to abusive relationships due to financial instability and less likelihood of further abuse & harm.
“Social responsibility is a key underpinning of our management philosophy. In everything we do, we aim to make decisions that benefit the environment and promote the welfare of our customers, employees, and citizens of the world.” Stan Delimitrou Executive Chef at Left Bank Melbourne.
This year, Left Bank Melbourne is working closely with the Plate up Project to host much-needed fundraising events for this incredible initiative, more info coming soon!
In the meantime, head to the Plate Up Project to find out more about how you can show your support to this cause.
