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it really needs to I mean we see it in mental health with the peer support and how important

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that it is for people to be able to feel that straight away common ground

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and first-hand knowledge and experience. I think it's like it's just

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you're a plate like it's just there's nothing that can be can replicate that. It's such a

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unique experience to have been in the care system and I think you know people can have empathy and

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and understanding towards it but for you to know that that's your peer support actually knows and

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understands and and has gone through the same things is really comforting and is going to be

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really comforting and help help these kids heaps. So yeah I think it's really good and I think it's

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awesome that they have some positive role models that have been out of the care system because all

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over the news you hear about you know the homelessness and the drug addiction and the

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this and the crimes and you and the suicide rate as well you hear about all this stuff

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you don't really hear about the good stuff and so you kind of when I was leaving care thought oh

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you know you're doomed that's that's the road you're destined to take because this is where

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you've come from. So it's really awesome if you guys can provide a space where yeah that's not

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the only alternative and young people can see that they can make a really good life for themselves.

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Community members as mentors could really try and give out that little bit of a nudge.

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Need to be gentle, need to be done properly but I think there's a time and space for that.

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And I look at where I am today and I only got here because of the people around me like

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I've got support from friends, a little bit of family but I also had mentors throughout that.

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I had a mentor from White Lion who really encouraged me to try different foods

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and just kind of created that experimented with new things taking me out to different

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restaurants and what it does is create this new experience for you that then you go oh that

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was actually real good I might try something else. And it builds it all helps you build to

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become a better person but I would really encourage you or anyone else to try and

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within this sector to try and have young people along that journey walk it with you.

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Have that lived experience the whole way. One, hold you accountable but two,

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make it more relatable to the audience that you're trying to tailor it to.

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I found it hard to talk to therapists that we're reading out of a textbook so if you've got

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background experience I feel like you're going to have more of a level with someone that is going

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through that time. I love it when you're not reading out of a textbook because there's a place

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for lived experience which is what we yes there is young people there is experience to be coaches.

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Having that ability to have a coach in their corner that's got a lived experience of being in

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care and they may have all sorts of different things but you know just that hour a week or

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that hour a month to just coach that young person from a perspective of being in care do you think

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that's something that you would have gravitated towards or do you what's your thoughts on that?

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I think I would have really really loved that. I would have loved to see what it was like on

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the other end because the things I've done differently or the things I might have picked

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up faster and learned lessons earlier on would have been amazing because I had I had I guess

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someone who had been in the same situation or a similar scenario that could offer insight or

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light into into what you know the end of it looks like and I think that would be really really

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important for young people I mean even to even to you know there's so many things you can

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you can you can teach and show and and educate on even you know from from being in care I know

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that it's very very easy to get down on yourself and very very easy to become a no person someone

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who says no all the time to everything no I don't want that no I don't want I don't want to go to

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school I don't want I don't want help I don't want this and you know even opening up yourself to

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being a yes person and saying yes to all the opportunities and you know waking up every

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morning saying yes is so important so having that peer and that person to help support you would

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I think would change lives I really really do.