SIMONE'S STORY.

Trigger warning: this brave story discusses domestic violence, homelessness and trauma. Please read with care.

“They remind me of a quote by Rumi; "Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.”

These Buy 1, Give 1 blankets help women and children feel warm, loved, safe and protected; a true gift of love from Jac + Jack and Two Good, as they carry on their tradition of gifting to those feeling isolated or marginalised. To anyone buying one, you can be sure that your gift will be received warmly and wholeheartedly by women and children who are so deserving of comfort, love…and a sense of home.

FOOD IS
MORE THAN
FOOD.

I’ve really enjoyed working at Two Good, and with food. I've learned all the knife techniques and now I've got a repertoire of dishes and recipes I can make. And I loved contributing to the shelter meals for women in vulnerable situations.

I was in a refuge for two years, so I can relate. I really loved Marina's Minestrone; we used to get really nice Sonoma sourdough bread, to have with the Marinastrone. It was so comforting and delicious; soup always reminded me of home and family. I got to meet her and tell her how much her minestrone meant to me, and I found out it was her family’s recipe from Italy. It was awesome to meet her.

I went to Lou’s Place yesterday - I took a friend there, who’s currently going through DV - and the girls were asking, “Oh, do you work at Two Good? The meals are amazing!” That made me feel good. I got to tell them, “Yeah, and the people there are so genuine. It's not just lip service!” I got to tell them how it’s a really clean, and a professional environment, tell them all about what we’re learning…and that a lot of love goes into the food there. It was nice, to get such good feedback.

I honestly didn't realise how good it would feel to make those shelter meals. I figured, you know, you're just packing meals…

“...but you really feel like a little piece of you has gone out to the community, to women in the same situation as you.”

It’s amazing to see G and Tracy (Two Good Delivery Drivers) do a shelter meal run, seeing the truck full of all the meals you’ve prepared. I actually went with G for a donation run up to the Northern Beaches - it was great seeing the reach we had in the community. Seeing those meals and their end result…it was surprising, how good it feels.

CHANGING
THE COURSE.

I heard about Two Good back in 2019, when I was in the refuge – there was a girl there with us, who was in the program. That was about four years before I started myself; there was a lot going on. I was experiencing homelessness, going from the refuge and then into transitional housing, escaping domestic violence, taking my perpetrator to court…it was all a big process.

Finances do play a big part in DV - all women need to keep their money. In my situation, my ex-partner was very controlling of the money. We both earned enough, but he gambled. He'd spend everything, so my wage got used. When I was working at the hospital, he'd come looking for me; it was scary. That’s when the police intervened.

I think more education around red flags and DV in schools would be great. When you see those warning bells in someone, just run. If the flags come up, they're there for a reason. I think Oprah said something like, “God shows you who a person really is, and it's up to us to listen and read the signs.”

There’s a long way to go with DV education in the workplace, too. The police were coming to the ward and people thought that I was in trouble - gossip started going around. When I told my boss what I was going through, and explained that I needed time off for court, I was treated worse, rather than feeling supported.

The police were amazing - coming to check on me, escorting me to stay with a friend who lived in the Blue Mountains. But I felt the social workers and the nurses that I worked with could have done a lot better. At my first refuge, the social workers were backpackers – they didn't know any of the organisations that could help, they’d just have a cup of tea with you for 5 minutes and they’d go on their way. I had five social workers in eight months, with no real support. It’s hard, to keep repeating your story and have no one help you. I’d worked as a nurse for over 20 years, I’d paid $400,000 in tax, I'd always done the right thing, I'd never broken the law...but it felt like I was never given priority.

Life in the refuge was very isolating. I tried to make the best of it, going out for walks or getting pizza - but it was during lockdown, so it was really, really hard. Living in a place with nine people, with one girl working in an aged care home…I isolated myself a lot. I'd been a nurse for 20 years, so I was very aware of the situation – and we were all still trying to figure out is this an epidemic, or a pandemic. It was a hard time for everyone.

But it got better when I went to WAGEC - their refuge was really good. And Lou’s Place - especially Nicole, who's now the CEO of WAGEC. She was amazing. She's a Rhodes Scholar, she's brilliant – she really helped me. I’d go over there and they’d put me in touch with housing support, give me some advice and direction.

It was a long journey, but I know just how fortunate I am, that I’m living in Sydney and have affordable housing - I know a lot more people that are on the brink of homelessness these days. With climate change, DV, rising cost of living and expensive rents, I think the government needs to get more on board – I don’t think they have a handle of the situation. I think they need to address this now and give a bit more money over to the cause.

Rob (CEO) and Two Good are making their mark on the world - but we need 100,000 Robs, we need 100,000 Prus (Eveleigh Head Chef). We need more people doing these things.

WORK WORK.

Work Work has been amazing. I've made a couple of friends, and I love working with all the chefs - Pru, Jacquie (Eveleigh Program Chef), Christine (Eveleigh Program Chef), Mel (Eveleigh Catering Chef), Maria (Eveleigh Kitchen Assistant).

From Daf (Program Manager), I've learned not to judge people. A lot of people in the world are quite judgmental, but I feel like that Daf sees us for who we are - not for the stereotypes. Not many people can do that, so it's been really important for me to get to know her and see the way she believes in people.

I learnt resilience is really important in the workplace - working at Two Good has been really good for me in that way. I’ve learnt new coping mechanisms to manage triggers, how to deal with stress better, how to not be ruled by emotions. How to manage those emotions in the workplace, whilst maintaining professionalism - I hadn't worked full time for about four years, so I’m just getting back into the zone.

In the beginning, I found it hard, because I hadn't worked for a while. I used to be a bit late and drag my heels a little - but Daf was like, no you can't be late at all. And that was good for me, because I realised that I don't want to let the team down, and it's really important when Pru gives her handovers in the morning. So I've learnt really good takeaways for my next job - punctuality, resilience, reliability, positive work culture, being sincerely happy to be at work. I love coming in now - I get really excited, my uniform is ready the night before.

The way everyone's so professional and how they model positivity and good workplace culture has been a really good takeaway – but they do it in such a genuine way. It’s not like fake positive, it's sincere.

“It's been really healing, being amongst good people. ”

There's so much negativity in the world, but I feel like this is a safe space for me. I feel psychologically safe here.

To anyone thinking about starting Work Work, I'd say be committed, be all in…and you'll reap the rewards. Work Work gets women motivated and inspired again. It’s good to not be relying on Centrelink; I think it can be a crutch. It’s been so helpful, having somewhere to go and motivating you to get out of the house. Rob's probably got good things to come in the pipeline, he's a brainy man…I'm sure Two Good is going to facilitate to even more people one day. I think it's really positive for the community...if they could expand it, that would be amazing.

TWOMORROW.

I’m proud of finishing the program and seeing that I can go through with something. Now, I know I can work somewhere long-term, or go back to uni. I'm doing five diplomas at the moment, so I want to finish them, go to uni and do social work next year. Two Good has taught me about commitment and time management – all the things you need, to go to uni. I'm already an enrolled nurse, so I’d only need to do two years to become a registered nurse, and two years isn't that long…these last 6 months have gone so quick.

Overcoming adversity has been a big challenge – and a long, long journey. But I’m working, I’m more confident and independent, I'm managing my money really well. I think about every purchase, I’m better at budgeting, I’m more likely to cook at home instead of always getting the nearest takeaway. I've got a few interviews in the pipeline, for after I graduate Work Work – I find out on Friday whether I've got a second interview for a job that I'm interested in.

I've got my own place now, putting up prints and getting pot plants – I’m making a new haven for myself. Somewhere I can close the door on the crazy world and have a little place to myself…it's nice. My daughter is really proud of me.

Before I started at Two Good, I was feeling despondent and hopeless; but Two Good led me to a path with a strong future and on-going employment. It has been amazing. I’ve healed a lot of wounds and I feel a lot of positivity for the future. It’s that feeling…of new beginnings.”