“I got involved at Open Door through my high school work experience. I started off down in the café making brews, giving out meals and food parcels, and now I’m shadowing the crisis worker because I want to go into crisis work.

I saw the impact that our crisis worker, Jess, was having, and I just wanted to give back to the world what the world gave me and my family when I was younger.
When I was younger, my mum and dad both didn’t have a job, and my little brother was in hospital. We used to have to get food parcels because we couldn’t afford it and mum was travelling back and forth to the hospital.

Looking back now, seeing people come into Open Door for help has made me realise that must have been how my mum felt trying to come and ask for help. It’s made me realise that the position me and my family were once in wasn’t the greatest position to be in, but there are ways of getting help.

Coming to Open Door has helped boost my confidence. When I first started, I got very anxious around new people and didn’t really like to talk. There were times I’d have to go and sit in a little corner for five minutes and tell myself, “You can brave the world again”.

Open Door has helped me realise who I am, I know that might sound stupid to other people. But I’m not the shy person that hides in the corner anymore. I can actually go and socialise with people.

It’s also made me realise there are so many people from different backgrounds and different circumstances. Seeing that, and understanding what my own family went through, has made me even more determined to help others in the future.”