Blog

Tenille Gilbert is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Society Melbourne. She has a background in community development and has worked across a number of Melbourne-based social enterprises and charities, living out her passion to support young people from all different backgrounds to thrive. Tenille believes strongly in the power of social enterprises to provide long-term solutions to social issues, whilst empowering the community to be a part of this social change every day.

Society Melbourne is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to create pathways out of homelessness for young people. We do this by running hospitality-based social enterprises that act as training and employment spaces for young people in our programs, whilst generating profits that are directed into running our programs. Society Melbourne currently runs five venues across Melbourne including Crêpes for Change Food Truck, home.one Cafe in Brunswick, home.two Cafe at The University of Melbourne and two Coffee Carts.

Q1: As a woman in your community what are the greatest challenges you face?

I am lucky to be surrounded by an incredibly supportive community including many other social entrepreneurs. I think that my main challenges tend to arise around my age and how this combines with being a woman. I have often had experiences of not being taken seriously, of people deferring to my co-founders (male) or of feeling overlooked during important conversations. The challenge that this poses to me is to not let this kind of behaviour bring me down or make me lose confidence in myself. To me, it is really about how I can hold confidence in myself and not be taken over by ‘imposter syndrome’. I see it as a challenge, but also as a great opportunity.

Q2: What does this year’s International Women’s Day hashtag, #ChooseToChallenge, mean to you?

To me, this hashtag is about having and owning my voice as a woman. I am lucky enough to have had generations of women before me fight for gender equality and to have received the privileges of this. I see this as reminding me that I still have a responsibility to continue to challenge the status quo and anything that I see that is not allowing women to live out their potential.

Q3: What advice would you give to a younger woman who wants to make it to where you are today?

I would advise them to take on all of the opportunities and experiences that come their way, and to wear their passion on their sleeve. By engaging with the space you will meet incredible people and discover opportunities to test the waters and to find out what you would truly like to be involved with. It is also essential in this work that you surround yourself with great people to not only make the best combined impact, but also to look out for each other.

Q4: How does your social enterprise contribute to society?

Society Melbourne contributes to society by supporting young people (aged 16-24) who are at-risk of or are currently experiencing homelessness to create their own pathway out of homelessness. We provide paid, on-the-job training at our hospitality social enterprises, along with wrap around support which builds up the confidence, skills and experiences that young people need to establish independence and follow their potential. Society Melbourne also creates a space for the community to directly engage with the issue of youth homelessness and to contribute to ending youth homelessness every single day, simply by purchasing their coffee from us!