Transcript Episode 125

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00:00:00:05 - 00:00:01:06

Lucy

Hi, listeners. Before we dive into today's episode, we want to give you a quick heads up.

This conversation includes topics that may be triggering or sensitive for some.

If you've got little eyes around or feel like this might not be the right episode for you today. Feel free to skip it. We'll be back in your ears next week with something lighter.

Take care of yourself and thanks for tuning in.

00:00:22:04 - 00:00:25:15

DAY ONE intro

You're listening to a day one FM show.

00:00:29:18 - 00:00:56:06

Ciara

Hello. I am Ciara Sterling, and I am really committed to, uniting everyone around a common purpose. And that purpose is that every human has fair and equitable access to essential services, and that people can live free from discrimination. And they can thrive in a country like Australia, where they should be able to thrive and really at the heart of that is, you know, when people need support, we need to be there for them where they are, not where we want them to be. And most importantly, we need to listen to the voices of humans, of people with lived experience and really take on board what they're saying and not make people tell their stories a million times. Because really, we should be believing people when they tell us their story and making sure we're there for them when they do.

00:01:13:21 - 00:01:16:13

Carrie

Hi, I'm Carrie Kwan, executive manager and founder of Mums and Co and a passionate advocate for women's financial empowerment. In this special edition of the podcast, we explore the powerful intersection of women's leadership, community building, and work life integration. Each episode features thought leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, and changemakers who are committed to making meaningful connections within their communities. Today, we're diving into a collaboration between Thriving Communities Australia and NRMA insurance, a partnership dedicated to supporting women facing domestic violence, financial hardship and other vulnerabilities.

Joining us, are Ciara Stirling, CEO and Director of Thriving Communities Australia. And Carla Forrester, principal customer, vulnerability and inclusion at IAG. Ciara has over 20 years of experience across corporate, government and community sectors championing social equity and human rights, at thriving communities she convenes over 350 organizations, together with people with lived experience, to forge deeper understanding of vulnerability and drive ecosystem change through social design innovation. Ciara is also a non-executive director of the Board of Consumer Action Law Center, and a member of various advisory boards, and a founding member of the Economic abuse reference Group. Carla Forrester has been instrumental in supporting the partnership, particularly the One stop, One Story hub, a world first platform enabling frontline workers to connect and refer customers to a range of support services through an innovative, streamlined system.

00:02:58:14 - 00:03:01:00

Carrie

Welcome Ciara and Carla.

00:03:01:00 - 00:03:02:14

Ciara

Thank you for having us Carrie.

00:03:02:15 - 00:03:03:14

Carrie

Let's start, by learning a bit more about the amazing work that you're doing with the One stop, One Story Hub to support vulnerable women. Ciara what was the spark that led to the creation of the one stop, one story hub? I'm interested in, you know, what unmet needs were you saying within the community that this platform now addresses?

00:03:24:23 - 00:03:52:19

Ciara

Yeah. Thank you. Carry. So one stock, one story really came out of a vulnerability roundtable we hosted back in 2016. And we brought together a whole range of of people and organizations from across the country, from frontline service in the community sector, you know, police, ambulance, you know, your red crosses, corporate Australia, community advocacy, government really to look at, you know, people experiencing vulnerability in our community.

We're interacting with all of these different organizations, but yet we all had a very different way of engaging. So in that roundtable, it really was sparked by this, I guess, this question, which was, imagine if we bought all of the knowledge of our sector and we all understood what we were bringing from our piece of the pie, but we were only bringing that knowledge and insight to see what we could do better to help that human in the center. So it was really about, how could we all wrap around a human who was experiencing vulnerability, in a, in a really cohesive way, instead of making people, you know, contort themselves into these sort of, you know, Gumby doll like positions. For those of you who old enough to remember Gumby dolls. But really, we were kind of contorting ourselves, you know, you have to jump through all these hoops and know the magical words just to get support that actually people were eligible for. So what really was that, You know, imagine if conversation. Imagine if we all work together. Imagine if the human was at the center. Imagine if we took away those barriers and we just were there to help people when they needed it. And so yeah, that was the spark, I guess, of where it came. And I think when we look at that, an unmet need, we just there was so many people across Australia experiencing vulnerability.

And it's not one particular archetype of a human. It's all of us at any point in time, you know, you lose a family member, there's a job loss. You know, you fall on hard times, somebody gets sick. You managing aging parents, interest rates go up. All of these things are happening in life and it is just life. So it's not vulnerable people. It's just life that we all experience which can create that vulnerability. And we know things like through food bank that, over 2 million people are experiencing severe food insecurity in this country, and nearly 4 million some sort of food insecurity. You know, 60% of those people are employed and 30% have a mortgage, right? So it's everyday humans experiencing these difficulties. And in those crisis moments, we were asking people the most difficult questions, and we were making them repeat their story over and over again to 22 year old call centre operators on multiple occasions. And humans felt really, you know, ashamed and embarrassed. And it took so much energy just to ask for help that really they have complete and utter access to. So we really started to look at the fact that, you know, these people were engaging with their bank and their telco and their family violence worker, and talk to a company all separately. So but they weren't getting all of the support they needed. And so we really wanted to look at a no wrong door, I guess where didn't matter. Which door you entered, it didn't matter who you asked for help. And really, I think with the hub, it was we needed to stop asking people to trust the system, and we actually just needed to build a system that trusted people.

00:06:44:05 - 00:06:45:01

Carrie

So many thoughts running through my head around, how you've painted a picture on what vulnerability is nowadays as well. Right. And that it isn't it? It is the every day. It could be the every day. You talked about such a various group of diverse stakeholders when you when you, you know, wanted to pose that what if, question you had government she had corporates, community groups, coming together and probably other roles in this in this cohort. What did you need to do to co-design this solution together?

00:07:24:03 - 00:07:43:23

Ciara

Co design is the critical word Carrie. We realized that in anything that you do, people need to come together and find that kind of common purpose or shared vision. So we we've brought together a range of stakeholders, you know, as you said, from corporate, community, government, we had regulators Ombudsman's, and we also had humans with lived experience. Because the most important thing when you're designing something for a human is to make sure that they're part of that design. So we had people who had experienced, you know, financial crisis. We had people who had experienced, family violence, and lots of different life circumstances. And we brought together a range of those people through a very, COVID was quite the grounder for people right. I think everybody in during Covid experienced vulnerability of some sort. So it kind of created this platform where everyone just got that anyone could be vulnerable. It was also, we were about to kick off our co-design and two weeks before kick off, Covid actually hit Australia. So it really we had to pivot. You know, people I think during those times in the, in the early 2020s, you know, we all had to pivot and pirouette and spin around. And we brought together this group online, and it took a year and a half to co-design this place, this system together. And it was really about walking in each other's shoes. So it was someone in the bank understanding what it was like for a financial counsellor in the front line working with a client. And it was someone in a family violence organization, understand in that telco the hoops they often had to jump through in their own organizations. So it was about bringing these stakeholders together and really co aligning on a common purpose. And part of that was putting the human in the center. Every person in that room committed that to the fact that they wanted to support people and they wanted to do it in a, in a collective way. And that meant they all had to trust each other. So, you know, trust is a really difficult thing. And when someone's reaching out for help, we need businesses to trust that human. But we also need these businesses to trust each other, because if they're working with a client or a customer, they don't want to just refer to someone they don't know. They want to know that if someone's there telling someone they're going to get help, that they're going to get that help. So it was really around building those relationships and trusts and then making sure that we had humans constantly coming in through the 18 month co-design to be telling their stories and really grounding people in those human stories. So we never, ever forgot while we were doing what we were doing together, you know, we and we had, you know, advisory committees, we had a multitude of committees so that, you know, regulators understood what we were doing and Ombudsman's understood what we were doing. And, and the humans themselves were saying, yes, all that would work or we don't think we'd like that feature. So it was a really genuine co-design process. And those groups, still now two and a half years on, still mate every every fortnight the frontline staff made every fortnight to share their stories and, and come back together. The senior leadership made every six, 6 to 8 weeks.

So it's been a co-design that's created a bit of a family, that family, you know, continues to connect in on a regular basis to and you know, and tell each other their stories so that they stay connected to what we're doing, what we're doing.

00:10:43:12 - 00:11:07:02

Carrie

That's amazing and fascinating that it took, you know, that period of time that. That to really understand the humans behind this problem that everyone's trying to solve. And I love that, you know, that family analogy that you use because it's that that is the care that has been evident in this, which I really do want to jump into as well.

00:11:07:07 - 00:11:16:06

Carrie

What type of feedback have you received from the users about their experience with, the one stop, one story hub?

00:11:16:23 - 00:11:41:02

Ciara

So we've now done over 7500 referrals through one sort, one story hub, and that includes 4500 of those, people experiencing family violence. So victim survivors of family violence. And I think, you know, when we started the hub, we wanted to start with family violence is the first pilot, because you never know when someone's experiencing family violence. Most people aren't disclosing that information to organizations. So when you're building a system, you need to make sure that all of the safety protocols are absolutely as tight as I can possibly be. And so I think that was a big challenge. But it also meant that we all felt trusted our own system. We knew that there was the right safety protocols in place. And through all of the referrals that we've seen, you know, we've seen people escaping family violence, being able to be connected to family violence services to, you know, getting free credit, put on their phone, making sure they've got safety flags on their accounts. And it's the way it works is, you know, if I was to call Commbank, for example, and I'm having a conversation, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm experiencing family violence. And I, I'm calling you from a phone booth because I've got no, no credit. And I'm sitting in a house with no power because out of my power turned off. And I'm so afraid my partner's going to get my forwarding address from my online account. And gosh, I haven't eaten for three days in that one call.

That operator on the phone can say, look, I've got you. I'm going to puts, gave you some support for your mortgage. I can from the phone call right now I can chop up your phone credit on your phone automatically. So you can go home and be safe. And I can refer you into Telstra and Energy Australia and Yarra Valley Water to get them to give you that wraparound support. You need. And while I'm here, I'm going to pop a text message through and that's got your closest foodbank service so you can get some food and make sure you're safe at home when you've got food. So we've continued to see these wraparound models we've got people with toll it's you know that again tolls often roads are used a lot of a lot of perpetrators of violence weaponize the products and services in this essential service space. So these businesses are coming together. I hate to stamp that out. And just to make sure that they are absolutely there for the human. So that person gets a call back from all of these organisations to say, we've got you. You don't need to tell your story. Again, we believe you and we're going to be here to help you.

And they provide all of that wraparound support to that human right there in that moment. So we've seen so many beautiful stories. But the other side is that the staff on the phones, we're all humans and we all feel so, you know, a call center operator in a bank or a telco or an NGO. What a business. They have that same fear and care for their customer when they hear someone's in real crisis. You know, in pre one stop, one story, they might be able to help with that little piece of the pie. Or maybe I can help you with your water bill. Or maybe I can get your energy connected. But I still know you're afraid you're going to lose your house. You haven't eaten and you need a family violence worker. And so what we've heard from frontline staff is how much it's taken away trauma for them because they can help the client with their bit, but they also know they're being connected to these safe and accessible support. So it's had a really big reduction in vicarious trauma for frontline staff. And it's also obviously for the humans themselves where we're hearing things like, gosh, you know, I, you know, I've just a white space lifted. And I can't believe businesses care this much that they're offering this support to me. And I spoke to one human who'd experienced family violence who said that was the game changer for her. It was the first phone call she made, and if it had have gone badly, she wouldn't have been able to pick up the phone again. But in that one moment, this organisation cared enough to wrap a support network around her, and it made her feel like, I can do this, I'm going to make this. So it's those stories. I think, that you just really hold to and that remind us every day that this is why we do what we do.

00:15:12:10 - 00:15:13:21

Carrie

Such powerful work, Ciara. And such important work. I'm just so grateful that that exists. And you're right that, you know, companies are stepping up and playing a really important role, in tackling this together. You know, you've mentioned a bit about the front line staff. You've got different stakeholders, you've got customers. This is a big problem to solve where this can be challenges along the way. In, terms of what you're faced in developing and implementing the hub and how did you overcome them?

00:15:44:21 - 00:16:15:21

Ciara

There are always challenges with any big program. Especially when you when you're working with such diverse stakeholders and historically, I think sometimes the community sector and the corporate sector sat on different sides of the fence. And so one of those big challenges was, as I talked about earlier, building trust, how do we trust each other? Because it doesn't matter if you're in the frontline at a family violence organisation or a financial counselling organisation or an energy business, you still, you know, you're still a human and you still care about people. And I think most people don't go to work every day going, gosh, how can I cause harm today? They really do their job in a service industry because they want to provide service to other people. And so helping people understand each side of the fence, each other side of the fence was really critical. I think family violence, when we first talked about kicking off with family violence, I think a lot of organisations were a bit scared about that because it is a it's one of those things that you just don't want to get wrong. You know, it's it is life and death. And so we really did a lot of work engaging with the family violence sector. We did a lot of engagement with people experiencing family violence, so that we could really understand a lot about how perpetrators might try and use our systems for abuse, and so that we could build those safety protocols in from the beginning. Having that, you know, people are talking a lot at the moment about safety by design and those safety by design principles were part of the design of this program of work. We also had to, I guess, convince organisations that this wasn't a space for competition. And also, you know, the I will say there's a fabulous competition regulator came to us and said, we can see this. This is about helping humans. This is not a position of competition. This is about people uniting around humans. So, you know, we bought the right stakeholders in the room from the beginning so that any potential challenges or questions we had could be solved, you know, live in that moment. And I guess also the cyber security and data and privacy side is, most certainly one of the trickiest parts. I think, we do have a joke that the, the cyber security audits from some of the organisations took us longer to get through than building the entire system. But I think and, you know, Paul, who runs our Hub a TCA has to go through audit,  I feel like every second week, and I'm sure he doesn't love it as much, but it helps me sleep at night. So we know that our auditing is so rigorous that we know that the humans data is protected. And we also built in safeguards to the how things like what's the safe time to call? Can you be text or, you know, mobile phone? What's the best way to connect with you? And also we don't store things like address. So, you know, people's one of the biggest risks you hold with things like family violence is someone being able to find out someone's address from a safety perspective. And so we don't store address in the hub so that we found ways around all of the challenges that those with lived experience put to us to make sure that that was built in. And then it was around keeping people connected. So, you know, we continually do training. We continually bring those groups back together. And again, we have to have humans constantly engaged in the work we do so that we always remember why we're doing what we're doing. So that's kind of been built into kind of how we how we manage the challenges and, and bumps as we go.

00:19:03:13 - 00:19:27:09

Carrie

Thank you for, highlighting. You know, such complexity in the work that you've done, like, really just gives. You rattled them off very quickly. But I feel like there is so much complexity and thought, and, like you said, the design of it, you know, all those principles that you had in place, from the get go to make sure that, the human is, is protected. How do you envision the one stop, one story hub evolving to meet the changing needs of the community? You've mentioned a bit about, you know, you're constantly, bringing in the people that matter to make sure that you, you understand their challenges at that particular time. What's next?

00:19:46:00 - 00:20:07:14

Ciara

We had, a two year pilot of the hub. The first 12 months was family violence. The next 12 months was also things like financial hardship. And we have a range of different use cases of why people might need support through this system. I think what we're looking for next is to scale. So when we first started, we only had 1 or 2 providers from each sector because we really wanted to test. Does this work? Is it safe? Is it the right solution? You know, I imagine a lot of the people in your audience, you know, that startup world, you know, business startup trialing new things. And part of trialing something is knowing that it might not be the thing the and it could fail. And you have to kind of sit comfortably with that too. So once we went through the very rigorous evaluation processes and we were able to say, this thing actually works, it does exactly what we wanted it to do, and we saw the impact it was making. We, you know, our next vision is we want every business on these hubs. So we're now at that kind of scale and broadening. And NRMAI is one of the newest partners that's coming on board, we previously didn't have insurance is the hub. And now we do. So we're starting to expand sectors, different organisations. We're looking at things like, you know, what are the what are the circumstances happening in life where you have to tell your story multiple times, like when there's a natural disaster. Interestingly, people coming in, in and out of the prison system, there's a whole range of different use cases where the hub actually could make a real difference. And so we're starting to look at those different use cases. We also want to make sure that everyone can access the hub. So it's a business to business tool. One day we hope that humans will come direct through the hub when we know that the hub is running exactly as it should, but we want to make sure everyone's included so that multicultural Australians have the same level access that our First Nations communities have the same level of access, people with disability have the same level of access. So it's continually growing our community organisation base and then continually growing the number of corporates and government agencies. At the moment, we have a couple of government organisations on. Again, my vision would be to have everyone who is working with a human experiencing vulnerability that is going to enter their door. I want them to be able to be part of The Hub. So it's really just that, I guess expansion, so that no one gets left behind. And we just I want, I want to where, where anyone has to knock on 100 doors or, you know, twist the dial the wrong way. I want to know that when someone says, I need help, we have got them.

00:22:11:06 - 00:22:19:12

Carrie

So much work to be done, and, we will absolutely be cheering from the sidelines to see that progress and important work. But I imagine emotionally intense. How do you care for your own well-being while leading such a mission driven organisation?

00:22:28:10 - 00:22:50:16

Ciara

Yeah. Self-care is such a critical thing, isn't it? And I think, you know, I, I'm a founder of a startup organization, and, you know, doing these big initiatives. And I think what can tend to happen and I'm sure many of the people in your audience can absolutely relate to this. We sometimes don't prioritise ourselves. First, you know, you're running businesses, you've got kids, you've got dogs, you've got all these responsibilities.

And how do you balance that? And I think, you know, I am very blessed and work with extraordinary humans in my organisation. I have such a fabulous team. But also across the TCI family, the thriving communities family is made up of about 150 businesses in some way, shape or form. And really it's about holding ourselves to account. So, you know, I have a mentor, we have a really, designed process around vicarious trauma and safety. You know, businesses have things like VIP programs, which we do have, but we also have a really structured process around that self-care. So when we're building and designing our work, we do a lot of work with frontline humans who are experiencing different types of vulnerability and crisis, and that can take a toll. So again, we do supervision sessions together. We have check ins regularly. We have rules around how much, you know, time you need to put if you're going to be doing interviews with humans, how much space and break you have. I, I have an amazing family and friend network that I definitely rely on. I think, it's, you know, knowing that you can pick up the phone and, and have a call with someone, we're trying to build in things like walking meetings. So we're actually getting maybe not right now because it's pretty cold in Melbourne, but trying to get out of the house, you know, trying to make sure that you've got natural light around you. But again, I just get so much I just get so much from the humans that we work with, both of those with lived experience. I think every time I have a conversation with someone with lived experience, I just feel so honoured and blessed about the generosity to share their story with me. And when we talk to these humans, they're saying, I'm telling you this story because I don't want anyone to ever have to go through what I went through. And that's just extraordinarily inspiring.

And it definitely feels your cup, because you just think every day, you know, it's just there's so many extraordinary people out there. And then, you know, there's people like Carla and these organisations that we get to work with. We just get to work with all the good humans. Scary. So we find our people. We have our tribe of people who, no matter what organisation they're in, they are there to do good. They are passionate about making a difference, and they are the people I get to hang out with every day. And so it's a pretty lovely family to be a part of.

00:25:10:09 - 00:25:12:12

Carrie

Well, thank you for your amazing leadership and for your concrete caring. We're going to, flip over to Carla, who's I'm sure been, whilst, you know, this work. So inside and outside, I can see that, you know, every, every bit of it still lights you up in terms of, the important work and progress that we are making in this space. So, Carla, Thriving communities has built, strong partnerships across various sectors. How did the partnership with NRMA Insurance and Thriving Communities Australia begin? And what do you personally to this initiative?

00:25:46:16 - 00:26:09:10

Karla

The partnership within our insurance and thriving communities Australia really began with a shared vision. A commitment to supporting people experiencing vulnerability and building more inclusive, resilient communities. From an arms perspective, we recognise that many of the challenges our customers face. So whether it's financial hardship, natural disasters, or systemic barriers can't be solved by one organisation alone.

So Thriving Communities Australia really brought a collaborative model that connected us with other like minded organisations across multiple sectors, allowing us to work together in a more coordinated and impactful way. One of the key parts of our partnership is our involvement with One stop, One Story Hub, Like Ciara said earlier, you know, it really reduces the burden of repeating this customer's, situation multiple times, which we know can be so often, really be emotionally exhausting and a barrier to accessing help. One stop, One Story hub really enables us to provide additional support to our customers in need while also ensuring that they're connected to broader support networks, whether it's financial counseling, utility relief, community services, banking services. It's really a powerful example of how technology and collaboration can come together to create a more human centered support system. What really drew me personally to this issue was the genuine focus on people. It's not about taking boxes. It's about listening, learning, and co-creating solutions that make a real difference in people's lives. And being part of something like this brings together empathy, innovation and action, and it's incredibly meaningful. And I'm really proud to be a part of it and to contribute to that journey.

00:27:23:15 - 00:27:25:01

Carrie

You're a phenomenal leader. Within, the in our insurance team and the broader IAG world. I know about some of the great work that you're doing around financial inclusion and driving the financial inclusion action plan. So I'm not surprised that this is this is one of those initiatives that you just have to support. What have been some of the key insights, or perhaps successes in building trust, fostering that sort of cross-sector partnerships that, that, you know, this this initiative has been. So, fundamental to the success of, to help those experiencing hardship or vulnerability?

00:28:05:20 - 00:28:30:23

Karla

One of the biggest insights that we've gained is that trust is really built through consistency, transparency, and a genuine commitment to shed outcomes. So when we're working across sectors, whether it's insurance, community services, government, utilities, essential services, banking, financial services, it's really essential to come to the table not just with our own goals, but with a willingness to listen and adapt. I think one of the key successes has been creating safe spaces for open dialog. So where partners can speak honestly about challenges and learn from each other. And that's where the real collaboration happens. When we move beyond transactional relationships with each other. And start co-designing solutions that are really centered on the needs of people experiencing vulnerability. I think one of the other successes is been the ability to leverage each other's strengths.

So, for example, from an NRMA insurance perspective, IAG perspective, we bring data and insight to about customers needs, while the community partners being really deep on the ground, understanding of those from a lived experience, including those you know, that are, have a lived experience. And when we combine these perspectives, we can create more holistic and effective support system.

00:29:18:15 - 00:29:19:21

Carrie

Yeah, absolutely. That space, that enabling space. And obviously, it's taken a period of time because it's, you know, some, some of those important conversations, like, you know, Ciara said before, it is enabled by trusts. And the fact that there are all the different players in this room in that enabling space and the right people, NRMA insurance is one of the leading corporates in Australia. What does what role does corporate responsibility play in addressing systemic vulnerability & how can how do we ensure that it's more than just a tick in the a box type of exercise?

00:29:58:05 - 00:30:18:20

Karla

Corporate responsibility plays a really critical role in addressing systemic vulnerability. But only when it's approached with authenticity. And long term commitment. So, like you said, it's not just about taking a box or publishing a report. It really has to be embedded into the way the business like in our mind, like NRMA Insurance thinks, acts and makes decisions. At NRMA Insurance, we see our role not just as a service provider, but as a participant in the broader social ecosystem. So that means recognising the impact that we can have both positive and negative to ensure it's more than just a box ticking exercise. We focus on our partnerships, like with Thriving Communities Australia, amongst others, our accountability and those, utilising those from a lived experience. We work closely with community organisations. We listen to the voices of those with lived experience and co-design initiatives that are grounded in real needs. We also have clear set goals. We measure our impact and we continuously reflect on how we can do better. Ultimately, it's about shifting the mindset of clarity or charity to one of shared responsibility. So understanding what the communities thrive and that's how we all benefit.

00:31:07:19 - 00:31:09:21

Carrie

Alot of the listeners today, and those in, our broader community, we have a lot of women who deeply care about social impact. We have a lot of men who are our Co, that also care about social impact. What's one action that they can take today to support vulnerable women in their own circles?

00:31:29:23 - 00:31:31:09

Karla

Look, if there's one thing, that they could take away, I think it's simply just to start a conversation. Alright. Reach out to the women in a circle, whether that's a friend, a colleague, a neighbour, and just check in with them. Ask how they're really doing. Creating space for people or for someone to make them feel seen, heard and supported. And it could be incredibly impactful, especially for those who might be quietly navigating, hardship. Beyond that, amplifying resources is really key. Share information about your local support services, financial wellbeing tools, community programs. Even just knowing what's out there can really make a huge difference for someone who's really unsure where to turn. And finally lead with empathy. So whether you're running a business, raising a family, or juggling both, modeling compassion, inclusion into everyday decisions can really create a ripple effect and strengthens a whole community. Sometimes it's the smallest gestures that have the biggest impact.

00:32:24:04 - 00:32:26:04

Carrie

Such simple, practical, advice.

Thank you so much, Carla. Thank you so much, Ciara. Is there anything else that you would like to share today? We've had an amazing conversation.

00:32:36:21 - 00:32:50:03

Karla

I just wanted to say thank you. And also just how inspiring it is to be part of conversations like this. Especially with the communities. Like Thriving Communities Australia and Mums and Co, which are both so values driven and action orientated,

not just, you know, encourage people to stay connected, keep showing up for each other. And that's how we build stronger, more compassionate communities together.

00:32:58:05 - 00:33:24:15

Ciara

Carrie, I just like to call out to all of the people across your. Your beautiful network that you have. And to reiterate what Carla was saying. And just to remind that any of us can fall on difficult times and life just happens. And that when life does happen, we want people to know that they can reach out for support, that there is support available, and we're going to make it easy for them to access it, because nobody knows what what's happening around the corner. And we all need a hand at some point in life. And we need to just be able to feel bolstered to ask for that support when we need it. Just definitely calling out to community that everyone experiences life. We're here for you when you need it and never, never be afraid to ask for help.

00:33:41:17 - 00:34:02:01

Carrie

Thank you, Ciara and Carla, for your leadership and reminding us that the systems can be redesigned with empathy at the core. If you found today's episode meaningful, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And don't forget to, like, subscribe and follow me in the podcast on your favourite platform.

Thanks for listening to today's episode.

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