Meet our founders

When we started STREAT we were really pissed off. We believed it was immoral to have young people with complex challenges in our communities without a home. Or hope. We didn’t see these young people as ‘too expensive’ or ‘too hard’ to help, and we wanted to build a social enterprise model to prove these young people were worth the investment. So we started building an approach that was nuanced, integrated and holistic, ensuring that each young person’s circumstances and dreams were understood.  

As a clinical psychologist and a scientist turned social entrepreneurs, we did years of research before moving from Canberra to Melbourne to be at the heart of Australia’s social enterprise community. We gathered an amazing bunch of diverse people to help us along the way. Our first years of business were particularly tough and we failed at many things and faced closure many times. But with a decade of insight, experiences, lessons and innovation behind us, we’re immensely proud of where STREAT is today. We’ve now provided the skills, support and training for over 3,000 young people but more importantly, we’ve provided those young people with a sense of belonging. This is what they consistently tell us, and this is what truly inspires us to keep moving forward with purpose.   

We’ve only got to where we are today because millions of people have been our customers and thousands of people have given us a group hug through their support. THANK YOU. You’re the reason we’ve survived our first decade.

Decade two really excites us. Whilst we’re no longer a start-up, we still feel like we’re just warming up! With the planet facing a climate catastrophe, we believe our work to nourish young people and the planet is even more critical. So this upcoming decade we’ll need even more caffeine and even more collaborators. We hope this might include you.

If you’d like to enquire about engaging Bec or Kate please contact Elise Bennetts with details and dates of your proposed event or conference.