The Freedom Hub Survivor School and Mission
Our Why…
About Ending Modern Slavery
Human trafficking and modern slavery happens within Australian borders. This makes us angry. And so we are determined to fight this crime in our country and you can join us.
This is Australia, the lucky country, how can we allow modern slavery to continue?
The Freedom Hub exists to help people who have experienced this crime and we partner in the fight to end global slavery.
We do this by…
running a Survivor School for rehabilitation
a café/event venue to help fund the school
an ethical retail and wholesale range of products
we collaborate with partners to help end this crime
and we work with corporates and businesses to asses and manage their risk of slavery
100% of profits from all that we do, funds our Survivor School.
What is Modern Slavery?
Modern Slavery is a severe form of exploitation of individuals for the purpose of personal or commercial gain and is prohibited under Article 4 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The ILO estimates that there are over 50 million people currently enslaved around the world.
In Australia, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) identifies eight serious forms of modern slavery: trafficking in persons; slavery, servitude; forced marriage; forced labour; debt bondage; the worst forms of child labour; and deceptive recruiting for labour or services. Forced labour is defined as a worker who has not offered their services voluntarily and who faces the threat of a penalty.
How is Modern Slavery different to Exploitation?
Modern Slavery is when “coercion, threats or deception are used to exploit victims and undermine or deprive them of their freedom” (Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018). Forced labour, forced marriage, and servitude are examples of modern slavery. A victim of modern slavery has little power to escape from their employers.
Exploitation at work occurs when the employer benefits unfairly from the employee’s work. For example, employees may not be paid what they deserve, or they may be working in a dangerous environment. To change these exploitative conditions, employees can negotiate with the employer or sue the employer for violating labor rights.
To learn more about international labor rights, check out The International Labour Organisation website.
If you would like to know more about modern slavery and the work The Freedom Hub does to partner in the fight to end it, go to our Ethical Business page here.
If you would like to read articles on the many types of modern slavery go to our list of articles here
Our Survivor School
How we help slavery victims recover.
Our Survivor School is a place where survivors are trained, encouraged and prepared for the workforce. A place where, through one-to-one mentoring, supported learning, and practical application; survivors can learn faster than in a large group, feel valued, and trust is reestablished. Survivors are accelerated into a position of success because our classes are trauma-informed, sensitive to their unique needs and cPTSD.
We run classes both face to face and online so we can help survivors from all over Australia. We also run wellness workshops, peer support groups and ‘outings’ to help them rebuild confidence and enjoy socialising with peers. We provide work experience and employment pathways, with screened partner companies for survivors who have completed our Survivor School courses.
“The Freedom Hub helps survivors stay motivated & seek opportunities to live a life of freedom, by offering individual supported learning and work pathways. This sets them up with hope as well as the opportunity to have another go and not lose heart.” Sally Irwin, Founder
More About our Service
Funding the End of Slavery
The Freedom Hub Café and Event Venue
Our Cafe is a place where local customers can enjoy healthy, fresh food knowing their money is making a difference. 100% of our profits support the school and cause. We are an award winning cafe. NSW Business Chambers Regional Winner for Social Enterprise.
“Small change, Big effect”.
Our food is sourced locally whenever possible and we check there is no slavery in our supply chain. All our staff are paid full award wages and our suppliers partner to fight the crime of slavery in Australia. We also opened a small cafe on the Gold Coast in 2018.
Our event venue is ideal for function hire. Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Corporate Events, Conferences and Small parties. A blank canvas where you can style our white industrial warehouse with your own taste.
“Our stunning warehouse venue is extremely popular for people who want to align their usual spending with their values. Ethical weddings, engagements and parties are a great way to shout ‘I care’ and leverage your spending to make the world a better place”
Sally Irwin, Founder
From the Founder
The Back Story
The seeds were sown on a dark street in Berlin, Germany where I spent three years supporting women who had been trafficked across the eastern borders for sex. Faces, smells, and stories I can never forget.
Naively I thought we were immune to this horrific crime in Australia. The reality that slavery happens here in many industries not just the sex trade; and the rage that built up inside me, motivated me to do something. The Freedom Hub was born out of this drive.
On returning to Australia in 2012, I worked as the volunteer coordinator in a safe house for trafficked women managed by The Salvation Army. As more and more victims were being found, there was a huge need for training to help the survivors find employment and rebuild their lives.
To continue and grow this training opportunity for more survivors, I needed to part with the Salvation Army and set up an independent school, allowing the safe house to remain a secret & safe residential place.
The Freedom Hub Ltd was the result. A Survivor School was established specifically to rebuild survivor’s lives, providing student led free courses. Our courses are broken into three categories: life skill classes, personal skill classes and work ready classes. We also offer educational outings to build friendships, community and fun while they learn about Australia.
We are the ONLY organisation set up to specifically provide one to one, long term life coaching and training for modern day slavery survivors in Australia.
The Freedom Hub Ltd is a registered charity that equips survivors to live in freedom and we welcome volunteers and local fundraising events to help this cause succeed.
Our social enterprise café, retail store and online shop, help fund our administration and survivor needs. We are privately funded and we need donors to keep the school growing.
I sincerely hope you will partner in this cause, by telling others, joining our community, shopping online, visiting our café or sponsoring a survivor.
See our “How you can Help Guide”
Everyone can do something good to impact others,
Sally Irwin – Founder
THE LATEST
Stories of Freedom
Survivor Growth
Growth in quality of life and vision for the future is essential for every person who has escaped slavery. It might seem trivial to us to have fingernails manicured, but it is a luxury for a survivor of slavery with little or no income. In this case, the survivor said...
June 2023 Donor Update
As a valued donor, I would like to update you on all that has been happening so far this year. And we have some exciting news about our survivor groth and expansion plans for the rest of the year. Team Update Firstly, meet Faye (pictured). We are so...
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