Well the short answer is - it’s been 39 years in the making and was born from a desire to help others heal from my own life experiences….
The long answer is:
On the 18th May 2021 - I attended a Mental Health and Suicide Symposium and as I watched the presenters present on a wide array of topics - academia, trauma, Suicide prevention and surviving from a lived experience perspective - all very impressive and well thought out talks & although in awe of the guests - I couldn’t help but think there was something missing and there was something I could offer and that maybe one day I could share that stage and tell my story.
For the days following - I couldn’t shake that feeling - an internal spark ignited to a flame & that flame burnt to a fire and that’s when @rollingwiththepunches_official was born.
Fast forward 365 days to the 18th May 2022 - exactly one year to the day from that first conference and I was fortunate enough to be the key note speaker for Day 2 of the NSW Aboriginal Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference.
RWTP is 39 years in the making but as a business we are almost 1 year old, in the past year we have built inreach to schools, prisons, community organisations, health services, sporting clubs and more but most importantly given people a chance to access the interventions and support they need to heal and recover in a safe environment that is underpinned by the ethos of “What happened yesterday, does not need to dictate what happens tomorrow”
From slow beginnings, people not responding to emails and proposals, taking free services when I was trying to break into the industry and then ghosting my invoices when it came time to be paid, working out where we fit without treading on other peoples toes and developing the courage to not only talk the talk but to walk the walk as well - alongside a full time family, full time job, full time study and another part time job - it was hard and it’s a juggle, it’s constantly a juggle - but if you care about something enough - you will make the time.
Thank you to my beautiful wife & home boss @kghittino for believing in this and believing in me, and also thank you to my work boss @mdb125 for giving me the flexibility to do this work and pushing me to be a bit better everyday.
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