From homeless to helping others. Nourishing a community with food and hope.

“It’s a miracle I’m alive,” says Josh Serafini. “I had to work really hard to take control of my life and get it back and now I want to help others.” He turned what he calls his “second chance at life” into a Moments of Help for others.

Josh, who was named the City of South Perth’s volunteer of the year last year, is the driving force behind the City of South Perth’s HOME Karawara Food Relief program, which helps to feed the hungry and inspire those who are down on their luck.

At the monthly community dinner at the George Burnett Leisure Centre, Mayor Greg Milner is on the tools serving up along with other volunteers. In his black chef’s jacket Josh is everywhere, making sure the seasoning is just right and that everyone is having a good time – and a great feed.

“Josh’s enthusiasm, dedication and selflessness is infectious, and you can see it on the faces of the people he works with, and the faces of the community members who come to these monthly dinners,” says City of South Perth Mayor Greg Milner.

Josh left home when he was 12. For a decade or more, he had almost no contact with his family. I’d hit this point where I was in self-destruct mode and fighting with my mother,” he recalls. “I didn’t want to upset her anymore.” 

He saw friends die on the streets, and was lucky not to share the same fate himself when he was stabbed multiple times in 2000. About six years ago, a government program finally got him into stable housing. Now 43, he says his Italian background means he loves to eat good food and a shared meal as it evokes happy memories of the family dinner table when he was a young boy.

In 2018, Josh pitched the idea of a monthly community dinner as part of HOME Karawara, a local support project (HOME stands for Hope Opportunity Mutuality and Empowerment). He says Waterford Plaza, the local shopping center, donated $5,000 to launch the community dinners – and it’s grown from there.

During the early days of pandemic lockdowns, the program evolved to become a weekly food relief service. Today, Josh and his volunteers make around 250 meals every week, helping around 4500 people across the year, as well as the monthly dinners. HOME Karawara Food Relief receives donations from Coles, IGA and food rescue organisation SecondBite, and cash from the nearby Royal Perth Golf Club and the City of South Perth.

Josh believes his grueling lived experience as a homeless man is the inspiration behind the program, and his supporters agree. “Josh has worked very hard to turn his own life around and set his feet on a positive path, which is fantastic,” says Mayor Milner. “But what makes Josh downright inspirational is how he has looked back at the people who are still doing it tough and offered those people a helping hand.”

Indeed Josh is the walking, talking, chopping and sauteeing proof that you can turn your life around and he wants to help others do the same. As well as feeding the regulars, he goes out actively looking for new ‘customers’, and for any volunteers who want to get some kitchen skills, he’ll help there, too. “We can help them to get new skills, go to TAFE and get a qualification,” says Josh.

It goes beyond that. “We’re helping to bridge the gap for everyone to get to know the community, without judgment.”

Some meals are picked up, others are delivered to hostels, refuges, and pensioners. “I’ve had some people who’ve been on the program since we’ve started – I’m always trying to get the message out that we’re here to help,” he says.

Ultimately, Serafini, would love to see his program spread across all of Australia. “Maybe worldwide!” he says with a grin. Optimism is a mighty force for those loving their second chance at life.

The Power of Help is within us all. Communities are stronger together. Share your Moment of Help here or to create your Moment of Help, join the Australian Resilience Corps, as we create the country’s largest army of helpers.