Seeing the Work: Pete

Some work begins long before employment does.

With Pete, the work began with showing up.

When I first worked alongside Pete, he was navigating homelessness and uncertainty. What was immediately clear was not a lack of motivation, but a lack of stable ground — practical, relational, and economic. The work was not to fast-track an outcome, but to walk with him as he rebuilt rhythm, confidence, and trust in himself and others.

This was not a program to complete. It was a relationship to hold.

What Happened

Much of the work took place in shared spaces — Food Not Bombs Hobart, StreetShelter, and informal moments in between. Pete participated in training, community meals, and practical tasks. He learned skills, but more importantly, he re-entered community as someone who contributed rather than received passively.

My role was not to direct Pete’s path, but to support him in identifying what was possible next. That included workplace mentoring, talking through decisions, navigating expectations, and helping translate effort into opportunity. Some weeks were steady. Others were uncertain. Progress was not linear.

What mattered was continuity.

How the Work Was Held

Working with Pete meant balancing encouragement with realism. Support with autonomy. Structure without pressure. Together, we focused on building economic participation that felt achievable rather than overwhelming.

Microenterprise work here was not about launching something impressive. It was about restoring agency — the sense that work could once again be something Pete belonged to, rather than something he was excluded from.

Alongside this, Pete chose to pursue further education. This was not a requirement or milestone, but a decision that emerged once stability began to take hold.

What This Revealed

Pete’s story reveals how economic participation is often relational before it is transactional.

Skills matter. Resources matter. But what mattered most was sustained support — people and places that did not disappear when things slowed down or became complicated. Food Not Bombs Hobart and StreetShelter were not stepping stones to be left behind; they remained part of Pete’s community even as his circumstances shifted.

The work was shared. No single organisation or person “produced” this outcome.

Reflection on Work

This belongs in See the Work because it shows what accompaniment actually looks like.

Not a rescue.

Not a transformation narrative.

But a person, supported to re-enter work and education at a pace that preserved dignity.

Pete’s journey continues. What can be seen here is one stretch of the path — held carefully, imperfectly, and together.

That is the work.