I’ve written previously about how in Feb 2017 I attended a Rites Of Passage Leadership training that helped give me a great design structure for S.T.E.P ( Seniors and Teens Empathy Program) … well, while I was there, I also put together this simple little vision of my aim for the program to simply bring “Together” the young and old, their stories being the bridge that connects them.

I am so thrilled to report that today I finally got to introduce students from Maroubra’s Bowen College Youth off the Streets to some of the wonderful residents my own children and I have gotten to know over the past two years … yes, S.T.E.P has made it to Bupa Maroubra Junction! The TOGETHER I have been working towards for my own Maroubra community has lift-off.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about how it might go… Bupa Maroubra is a high care home and some students admitted when they arrived they were feeling a bit scared to be there –  it can be a confronting environment when you first walk in if you’ve never visited before…. but half an hour into it we had one student and  a resident speaking Greek together and others chatting about the old days when trams used to run to Coogee beach.

Once again, I’ve been blown away by being witness to the power that sharing stories has to connect the unlikeliest of people.  We all have our stories… and, though sometimes we may not know it, often, deep down, we all want to share them with someone.