In such a short time, Nourish Street has grown far beyond my wildest imagination. I never sat down at the beginning with a plan for what it would become. We dealt with what was in front of us, listened to the people we met and tried to fill the gaps we could see. Somewhere along the way, those small steps became something much bigger.

Our next major focus is our nurse practitioner led medical outreach clinic. This is something I desperately want to see become a reality because we regularly meet people whose health has suffered while living rough. Bringing professional healthcare directly to people gives us an opportunity to reach someone before a manageable problem becomes a serious one. I look forward to the day when that clinic heads out for the first time, because behind all the planning, fundraising and hard work will be a person receiving healthcare who may otherwise have gone without it.

Beyond the clinic, I have an even bigger dream. One day I want Nourish Street to provide supported accommodation. It could begin with a duplex, a few houses or perhaps eventually a block of units. I can picture someone who has spent months or years without a secure place of their own being handed a key and knowing that, for the first time in a long time, they have some stability beneath their feet.

I do not want tents in public spaces to become the standard we simply accept. I understand why they are there, and while people have nowhere else to go I will continue supporting them with dignity. But there is a difference between recognising the reality in front of us and accepting that reality as good enough. It should never become normal for people to spend months or years living in parks because there is nowhere affordable or appropriate for them to go. We can provide the best tent, sleeping bag and meal possible, but we should still be working towards something better.

That is why I want those future keys to unlock more than a front door. My hope is to create a program with wrap around support based on the needs of each person who enters it. That could include healthcare, addiction treatment, mental health support, employment assistance, financial guidance and help navigating services. Some people may need considerable support, while others may need an opportunity, some stability and somebody in their corner while they find their feet again.

The outcome I would love to see is someone eventually walking away from Nourish Street because they no longer need us. To see a person enter during one of the hardest periods of their life and later move into permanent accommodation with greater stability, independence and plans for what comes next would mean more to me than any measure of how large Nourish Street becomes. Success should not be measured by how many people remain dependent on a service. Sometimes the greatest success is watching somebody leave it behind.

Dreams like these cannot be built on good intentions alone. They require money, planning, patience, professional people and a strong organisation underneath them. That means sustainability has to be part of every decision we make about Nourish Street's future.

We will continue spending donations carefully on the needs in front of us, but responsible stewardship also means saving for what comes next. Where we can, we need to continue putting money aside, growing our capital and building reserves. I want Nourish Street to eventually have the financial strength to invest in major projects without putting the organisation itself at risk. If an opportunity comes along to purchase property, expand a service or create something that could benefit people for decades, I want us to be in a position to act rather than watch that opportunity disappear because we never prepared for it.

There will always be immediate needs competing for every dollar we receive, and finding that balance will never be easy. But sustainability means thinking beyond this week's bills. It means protecting Nourish Street against difficult times, planning for growth and making sure the generosity people show us today can create an impact well into the future. I want the people who donate to know that their contribution may help someone tonight, but careful management can also help build something that serves people for years to come.

I want Nourish Street to grow, but I want it to grow with purpose. I do not want expansion just so we can point to another building, another vehicle or another program and say we are bigger than we used to be. Every step forward should answer a genuine need. If we eventually own accommodation, it should be because people need it. If we expand our medical services, it should be because people are missing out on healthcare. The organisation should never become more important than the people it was created to help.

Where possible, I also want us to maintain our independence from government funding, particularly if accepting funding ever comes with red tape or restrictions that compromise our ability to advocate openly. If something is failing the people we support, Nourish Street needs to be able to say so. If decisions are being made that negatively affect people sleeping rough, we need the freedom to question them. I never want us to become frightened of speaking because somebody else controls the purse strings.

There will also be projects and opportunities we have not thought of yet. Needs change, communities change and new people will come into Nourish Street with their own experience and ideas. I hope we are always willing to listen.

Nourish Street should never be built around one person or one person's vision. It needs good people around it, a strong organisation underneath it and the ability to adapt when circumstances change.

Most of all, I want Nourish Street to outlast me. I want to know that what we are building has foundations strong enough that one day, when I am no longer the person driving it, somebody else can pick up the keys and keep moving it forward. If we do this properly, there may eventually be people helped by Nourish Street who have never heard my name. I would be perfectly happy with that. It was never supposed to be about me.

It is about the person who needs what we can provide next.

That person may need a meal tonight. Tomorrow it could be medical care. One day it might be a key to somewhere they can begin rebuilding their life. Our responsibility is to keep asking what is missing and, where we realistically can, find a way to fill that gap.

There will be setbacks. There will be ideas that fail and times when things do not go according to plan. We will learn from them, make changes when we need to and keep going.

If something in these pages has resonated with you and you would like to be part of what Nourish Street does, there are a number of ways you can help. You can give some of your time, make a donation or simply get in touch with us.

If you would like to volunteer, please email:

volunteer@nourishstreetinc.org

If you would like to donate or support our work, please visit:

(Nourishstreetinc.org)

If you would like to contact Nourish Street, please email:

info@nourishstreetinc.org

And perhaps that is the right place to close this book.

For now, I am proud of what has been built and incredibly grateful to everyone who has played a part in it. Nourish Street exists because people have been willing to turn up, give their time, donate, support us and believe that something worthwhile could be built.

There is still plenty I want to achieve, but I have learned not to get too far ahead of myself. We will keep doing what we have always done: deal with what is in front of us, listen to the people we meet and do what we realistically can to help.

That approach brought Nourish Street this far.

I think it can take us a lot further.

So I will put the pen down on this book and get back to work.

The book is finished.

The work continues.

And I’m just getting warmed up.

THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.....

( i hope you have enjoyed reading my story!

For previous chapters scroll back on this page.

I hope to have the complete book available on hard copy in the near future. Beau