MIDLAND’s Homeless Week 2024 has started with a few morning roasts by Grow and Grind outside Karlup Engagement Hub on Tuesday.

Grow and Grind is a social enterprise delivered by 55 Central looking to equip people experiencing homelessness and isolation, the employment skills they need through on the job training.

55 Central program coordinators Tammie West and Aaron Rogers worked alongside Grow and Grind founder and support services coordinator Jaryd Tan and trainee Peter to prepare coffees on the streetside.

Visitors flowed in from Karlup Engagement Hub’s paint and soup event to get some hot drinks from the van in the winter morning.

Mr Tan said the day was aimed at networking and raising awareness for people experiencing homelessness that 55 Central’s services were open to them.

“Since we started, we’ve been able to engage 60 people experiencing homelessness through the Grow and Grind program,” he said.

“Now 20 people have found employment, and that’s general employment, not only in the hospitality industry, which coming from the work that we do and the people that we support, is a huge number.

“These are people that have been experiencing the trauma of homelessness, so the impact is real, and we’re proud of the work that’s happening, with 25 individuals engaged by the program now having their barista licences.”

Grow and Grind trainee Peter, who is one of the residents at 55 Central, spent the majority of the morning behind the van preparing orders and serving customers.

“He’s doing really well — for somebody like Peter who generally struggles with anxiety and isolation to get up and have a purpose is a huge step and a huge outcome,” Mr Tan said.

“He’s been on the program for about four to five months and being able to run the van by himself now is just an incredible difference.”

Mr Tan said the next step was looking at a brick-and-mortar shop where Grow and Grind could self-sustain as a social enterprise.

“Things are looking positive and we’re actually looking at Midland as a potential place to set up the Grow and Grind shop,” he said.

“It’s quite a new development, and we’re not really too sure if it’s confirmed to be in Midland at this stage, but once it is confirmed, people will know.”

Mr Tan said for Homelessness Week 2024, the public should remember the value of sharing kindness and being human to somebody experiencing homelessness.

“A lot of people will cross the road because they don’t want to walk past somebody homeless or they think they’ll be attacked,” he said.

“It’s a stigma: not everyone experiencing homelessness has a drug addiction, or is a bad person, they’re just individuals like me and everyone else looking for a chance.

“We all have a story, and the message really is to not be afraid to approach someone who is street present, and just showing that act of kindness can really brighten their day.”