Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can stop.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Well, we say good morning to Joseph from Eswave and
we're doing a rebrand today. So when we helped you
out with Gailey and the rest Gailey to the rescue,
we interviewed a young man called Mason and we followed
his story, but we use the name Mason to protect
him because he was under eighteen. And he's here now
and he is rebranding to Ari. Ari is your real name?
(00:28):
And now that you are eighteen? Yeah, you are you?
How's that feel?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It awesome?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Now? To remind everyone, you came into the eastwhile program
you estranged from your family and homeless, living on the streets.
Can you remind everyone your story?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
So I left, Abu said, I was living on the
street Sea Bush shoulders, Tin City's Mecus pleaground and I
was hailing theater and Cairns and doing crime to help Copaine,
ending up in and out of the cycle word after
suicide of TIMPs. But I've got I've read myself a litter.
(01:11):
They're fifteen year old me to share where I am
now perfect, They're fifteen year old me. You're probably not
gonna believe this. I know you feel like there's no hope.
Don't give up, because one day you're going to find hope.
(01:32):
I know you feel alone and scared and like nobody
loves you. One day you're going to find a family
through eastwelve of three hundred brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties.
I know you're sleeping in Macca's playground, Tin Cities, bush,
Shouted Street, Pinches, train station and the bandos. Don't give
up because one day you're going to be living and
(01:52):
one of your own tiny ames that you help build
in the swath. I know you're croming and doing crime.
That's okay, that's all you know with how to cope. Well,
one day you're going to have a whole toolbox of
how to deal with your emotions. You're going to learn
healthy ways to cope like us baths of breathwork and
being aware of my emotions. I know you don't want
(02:16):
to be alive, and that you keep trying to take
your own life and have been very close and ending
up in and out of the psych woods.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
But keep hanging on because.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
One day you're going to complete your search for a
youth work and help many aris there are struggling. I
know you feel like you don't have a voice. One days,
what's going to help you find that voice? And you're
going to be a voice for many aris and events
and new homeless fundraisers. Dear fifteen you old Ari, your
sister Neve, who was there with you through it all.
(02:45):
One day, she's going to be here in a different way,
but become one of your biggest reasons why to get
out of bed in the morning to help many neeves.
Dear fifteen you old me. You're probably not going to
believe this, but one day you're going to win the
Vocational Student of the Year for the Southeast Queensland Training Awards.
So dear fifteen year old ear, please please keep hanging
(03:09):
on me, keep fighting, because one day you're not going
to be surviving anymore. You've got to be living.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
That's powerful, that's powerful. And mate, you've just won an award.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
What was the award Vocational Student of the Year.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Can you believe it? That is just so cool?
Speaker 5 (03:32):
That is what does that mean to you?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
For me?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
That means I get to help you know many eries,
I get tell many leaves. I can help you know
as many many aries as I can. I'm happy, you know,
that's my call for us.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, and it's a great calling helping other people and
people that have been in the same situation that you've
been in. Yeah, you give them hope.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Showing others that there is tell us about Neve. She
was my best mate who was a sister to me,
and she was there for me through it all. There.
She used to call me every day when I was
on the streets.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Said we met him.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, she understood what I was going through because she's
gone through it, and unfortunately end of last year, she
she took her wings and flew to heaven. And now
she's one of the reasons I'll keep fighting to make
sure that no one ever has to feel like they
(04:38):
have to do what Neve, you know, ended up doing.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Okay, I'm so sorry, Joseph. You're half crying, half proud. Congratulations.
What a success story Ari is for you guys.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
You know, when I first started this, had a couple
of friends, Don and Camille Pepper who backed East Wave
and said, if we have at least one person out
of every ten, then it's worth an investment. You know,
we've helped over three hundred kids, but they're one kid
for me. Is urriy up on stage in front of
three four hundred people. I felt like his father, very
proud moment for me. And I've done my job. And
(05:16):
there's a long way to go for this young man,
and he's still going to make mistakes. Been as young
as he is and as old as we are, we
still make mistakes. But we've seen and just heard how
powerful this young man is. And I'm proud to stand
in this corner along with all these other young people
that just need a bit of guidance and a bit
of love. And I'm proud to be that man.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
A great job you really have.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And Ari, from the moment we met you, we just
knew you were something special. You've got a special energy
and it's continuing to shine and help others. So well
done on that. I hope that never dims. Yeah, And
I know after we helped save you had some tricky
things happen. So to fight through those as well, that's
really amazing.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
You need to see also in yourself what everyone else
sees in you, Like Eja talked about, that's something special.
You've got to know that you've got something special yourself.
That's the most important thing. Yeah, believe in yourself all
the time.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
How are all the kids that we met you twelve
months ago?
Speaker 4 (06:17):
They're good.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
There are still pains in my asses, but we love them,
you know, and that's what we stand for. I think
it's important to have a true understanding of who you
are because when you're in that space, you're tested constantly,
and it's a healing space, not only for me, but
all of us workers there as well. We learn something
about ourselves through our young people, So I think that's
(06:40):
what's magic about what we do. But today's also Big
Brother fifteen's graduation. So we've got another fourteen brothers and
sisters that are coming through our doors. Majority of them
have taken opportunities that we've given them, and some haven't,
but that's their choice. We know that we've planted a
seed with them. They know that our doors open and
(07:00):
we will understand by them. So and I'm grateful. I
live in a space of gratitude and I'm grateful I've
got purpose in my life.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
So the guys are kicking goals that we met like
twelve months eighteen months ago. Are they all going on
to bigger and better things with some of the opportunities
that you've been able to help them?
Speaker 4 (07:18):
With you make. A couple of them are in their
first year apprenticeships.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Now we've got some boys and plumbing, some boys form
working here on the Gold Coast, so a lot of them. Look,
some of them got their job and also lost it,
but they were able to get back on their feet
and get another job as well.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
So our job is not to hold.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Their hands, to give them the tool so that they
can get back on their feet again.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And how are you going fundraising and everything? I know
that coming into the last election, there was a lot
of promises. Are they coming through?
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Great question?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Lots of promises. Nothing on my desk at this moment. Wow,
But we're talking to people behind the scenes. And look,
I've always warm my heart on my sleeve. We've always
spoken to people, you know. So nothing really has changed
the hell of a lot. But it is good to
have these conversations with David Chruso Full and Laura Guba.
We just need something on our destiny.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
The election was one off the back of some of
that doors public talk, so yeah, we have to make
sure that happens.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Accountable what I can say off those public conversations. But
more so than Gaily to the Rescue, I can't mention
the foundation's name because they pride themselves on keeping what
they donate secretive.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
But there was a half a.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Million dollar donation that come through our doors off the
back end of Gaily to the Rescue.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
You're joking, are you kidding?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
How did you not tell us until now?
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Look, it's something that we.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Understand the value of people wanting to be private, and
we respect that as well. But I just thought it
was a good opportunity us coming back and through the doors,
you know, twelve months later, that just purely through having
some real positive conversations about youth and what people are
actually out there doing. Man, these generation that these conversations
can general rate a substantial amount of money that comes
(09:02):
through our doors, and we've been able to, you know,
put this young man into a home that he now
gets to call his own. We also had another foundation
called the Newman Foundation I can mention their name, that
donated seven thousand dollars to Eastwave and we decided to
put that into a bank account for Aria to help
with his future studies and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
So keep these conversations up, guys.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
Five hundred thousand dollars, So okay, So what does that
mean to you that donation, Like, how has that helped
you help other people?
Speaker 1 (09:32):
So we're going to look at building a couple more
homes that we can add to our EASTA fleet to
provide emergency housing for our young people that need it.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
We're going to be able to bring on a couple
more stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Man, we're a small team that have big hearts and
we're doing a job of probably twenty people with a
team of five, team of six. But it just helps
us out more young aris that just need a bit
of guidance and put some more tools into their toolbox.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
And yeah, so thrilled.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
That's a huge donation. I mean, I wish it had
to come through when we were doing sounded amazing for sure.
That is phenomenal five gaily.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Yeah, that's just where we've been doing them for a
long time and we've never had anything like that. We
have had situations where people have got money up to
go to the rescue and it's still sort of coming through,
but nothing as substantial as that. That's just amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So I do just want to thank the mum that
wrung up. Her name was Lee Mouana. Her son had
come through our program previously, and she's the one that
made the call to here to tell us that you
with uncle Joe and here we are. But look, Hot
Tomato and your team here have being huge supporters of us,
and I love coming in here because it feels like
natural conversations and I think when you've got so much
(10:51):
love in the room, it makes a conversation so easy.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
So well, the door's always open, as you know.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
You don't want to say that to me, mate.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
Well we have said it to you here.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
The reception is only on three days a week.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Yeah, yeah, lunch. The doorbell goes, it's Joe again.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Well, thank you guys for sharing that. Any congratulations to
you Ari. Another twelve months. You need to come in
and tell us what other awards you want.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
All right, sure, yeah, good on you guys.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Beautiful Here we are. Hey, stick around.
Speaker 6 (11:23):
We're going to continue our chat with Joe and Ari
from E Suave, including talk about a massive donation that
they had come in after the Gaily to the Rescue
last year. And of course, if you require a lifeline
at any time, give them a call. Thirteen eleven fourteen
across the Gold Coast. This is one to know, Hot Tomato.
We Gaily and Emily Jane. You remember last year we
did a little Gaily to the rescue for some young
(11:50):
because we got some visitors in studio