REBECCA SCOTT

In 2009 Rebecca Scott founded STREAT, a social enterprise aimed at helping homeless and at-risk youth, who are often unable to finish education or access training and employment opportunities.

STREAT gives education and experience in hospitality to disadvantaged young people in Melbourne. The motto of the organisation is ‘solving social issues through business’, ie not through handouts.

Commencing with a food cart that soon converted into a coffee cart and then multiple cafes in and around the CBD, STREAT has enabled thousands of hours of on-the-job paid experience, and has served hundreds of thousands of meals. The enterprise is now 70 per cent self-funded.

The long-term goal is ambitious: ‘To stop youth homelessness one meal at a time’.

Scott has been awarded a Harvard Business School Scholarship and in 2016 was a Victorian Local Hero nominee in the Australian of the Year Awards.