Key Facts

• Steven lost his father to suicide when he was six and later struggled with mental health and heroin addiction.
• Counseling helped Steven change his life and inspired him to study therapy at university in his thirties.
• After graduating, Steven and his partner faced financial hardship and used a food bank to feed their children.
• Steven found the food bank experience more dignified than he expected and now volunteers there.
• He helped food banks improve service by allowing people to choose their own food and stopping labeling bags with marker pens.
• Steven believes removing shame from food bank use helps more people get support.
• The local food bank values Steven’s experience to train volunteers to better understand visitors’ needs.
• Steven now runs his own therapy business and prioritizes giving back to charities that helped him.