Yesterday, the Bower’s staff came to work to find the locks had been changed, and the future of our organisation is suddenly in danger.
The Bower's flagship reuse and repair centre has diverted tens of thousands of tonnes of reusable goods from landfill, helped thousands of people to repair their goods for free, and is the headquarters where staff work from, delivering programs to reduce waste and support survivors of domestic abuse and refugees.
Sadly the Bower's landlord, the Addison Road Community Centre Organisation (ARCCO), is determined to remove the reuse and repair sector from the centre. Both the Bower and Reverse Garbage have been the targets of a sustained campaign to remove them, and over the years ARCCO has tried various tactics to undermine our operations and achieve this.
We are raising money so that we can survive. We will challenge our landlord in the Supreme Court of NSW. As our main storefront and source of income is forcibly closed, we are turning to the community to ask for your help.