“I came to Australia in 1989 and I felt like I didn’t know anybody. I was quite lonely, and I saw an ad in the paper that said, if you felt you could care for somebody who doesn’t want to go into hospital and die – and you feel you could care for them at home, put an application in. They were looking for volunteers, and I wrote off my application. So my start point for being introduced to ACON was the Community Support Network (CSN).
I was working with people who’d been disowned from their family – they had nobody, they’d lost their job, they’d often lost their home, they’d lost their dignity, they’d lost everything. I came through their door an English, straight woman, and they were so welcoming, so grateful. It’s making me quite emotional when I think about it. It was a privilege to be in that space. It was an amazing opportunity that was given to me, and I will be forever grateful to CSN. And that was my doorway into ACON.
I was welcomed into the community, because I put my hand up and said, I’ll have a go. I felt that I found my tribe. I found my place. I’m internally grateful, so I do anything that I can do – a CSN shift, shake a bucket, stand on the door, sell a raffle ticket, anything. It’s brought joy into my life and accepted me for who I am. So thank you, ACON. Thank you for the opportunity.”
