I work as a disability support worker in a day centre. We recently went to a health food store in Leongatha with a group of participants.

While there, one gentleman in our group greeted the staff there warmly, and several staff including the manager came over to chat with him. It turned out that he used to live there a few years ago and was previously a regular customer.

The staff told me that he still calls the store on the phone almost daily to keep them updated about his life. I thought that seems like quite a lot of phone calls, but the staff reassured me that they are happy to chat to him daily. I was quite touched that they were happy to take the time daily in a busy store to take these calls, especially considering the gentleman lives far away now and can no longer shop there.

Needless to say, I was inspired to spend a bit of money there and bought an array of treats for our group to sample. It is heart warming when people with disabilities are treated so warmly and supported by the wider community like this. This visit meant so much to the gentleman in our group- he is still so happy about it days later.