About 50 migrant and refugee women have built their social and working skills through the 2025 ACT Local Hero winners.

The joint winners are Café Stepping Stone founders Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello.

The sustainable vegetarian café runs across two locations, Strathnairn and Dickson.

It is a social enterprise and registered charity that helps women gain on-the-job training and qualifications through partnerships with registered training organisations.  

The other nominees in the category were Initiatives for Women in Need founder Dr Madhumita Iyengar, ultramarathon runner Pamela Muston and advocate for gender equality in women’s sport Delfina Shakespear.

Ms Brettell said she teared up when she found out they were finalists.

“Winning this award allows us to spread the word and then have a bigger impact,” she said.

“The platform this is giving us allows us to advocate more for the women that we are supporting and the issues that they’re facing.

“Hopefully we can help improve that settlement process for migrants in Australia.”

Ms Brettell said she loved running the café because it brought together different parts of the community that wouldn’t normally interact.

The staff members come from all over the world, including Afghanistan, the Middle East, Myanmar, Thailand, Africa, Congo, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela, Cuba and Colombia.

Some of the women have been in Australia for only a couple of months, while others have been in the country for years.

Ms Brettell said the biggest change she saw in the women was the boost to their confidence.

“We have a lot of women who’ve told us they were feeling very isolated and lonely prior to working here,” she said.

“Maybe they didn’t feel comfortable in any spaces outside of the home, so it’s meant a lot for them to be able to have a space where they can form connections and friends.”

Ms Brettell said the job also gave the women the financial security to have a stable income over a long period of time.

Ms Costello said the Local Hero of the Year award was unexpected.

When asked what being a local hero meant, Ms Costello said: ”I think we really decided to try and focus our impact on the local community and help make Canberra a better place”.

Aside from the food and drinks offerings, sometimes showcasing the cultures of the employees’ home countries, the café hosts community events including a silent book club, crafternoons, clothing swaps, a community garden and a homework club for the residents at the Dickson building.

The Strathnairn café opened in August 2020 with the support of Strathnairn Arts Centre and Mill House Ventures, while the Dickson one opened in August 2023 with the support of the ACT Government.

Learn more about the café at cafesteppingstone.com

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