You Are Not Alone: A Warm Table for Veterans
Near the National VAM (Veterans' Activities Centre) Hospitel at Concord
Hospital in Sydney, a very special and quiet barbecue was held for veterans. It
was not a grand festival, but something warmer than the smell of sausages on
the grill filled the air — the warmth of companionship.
An Afternoon at Concord Hospital, Sydney: As the Sausages Slowly Cooked
Under the afternoon sun in the outdoor area of Concord Hospital,
handyman volunteers wearing fluorescent safety vests stood by the grill. With
practiced hands, they gently turned the sausages.
Here, time seems to move a little more slowly than in the outside world.
As they waited for the sausage skins to crisp and the warmth to seep all the
way through, the volunteers’ silhouettes looked almost like they were
performing a careful ritual. For them, this was not simply about preparing food
— it was a patient act of waiting for hearts to open.
“I Was Not Alone”
Arthur (pseudonym), a veteran well into his eighties, sat quietly on a
chair at the edge of the lawn. In the repetitive routine of traveling between
hospital and home, what he had felt most deeply was social isolation.
He did not come for a grand meal. A simple slice of bread, one sausage,
and a cold drink — that was all. Yet for him, this modest offering was a
lifeline connecting him to the world.
The volunteers did not overwhelm Arthur with conversation. Instead, they
sat beside him, chewing their sausages together, exchanging brief remarks about
falling leaves or the shapes of the clouds. Sometimes long silences followed —
but they were never cold.
“I didn’t come because I missed the food. I came because I wanted to
feel that I am still seen by someone.”
Not Fixing, But Walking Together
As the event came to an end, Arthur rose with a brighter expression than
usual. One volunteer, reflecting on the day, said:
“We didn’t fix anything. We walked together.”
The handyman team may be known for fixing things, but what they repaired
at Concord that day was not a squeaky door — it was a weary heart.
As he left, Arthur quietly murmured:
“I was not alone.”
Grilling for the Restoration of Community
This barbecue was not merely a “service” providing food. It was a
dignified gathering affirming that the veterans at Concord Hospital — and the
isolated neighbors among us — are never truly alone.
The volunteers, too, felt their own lives strengthened through those
brief conversations and shared silences.
Even after the sausages cooled, the warmth that remained began to spread
— slowly reaching beyond the courtyard of Concord in Sydney, into the colder
corners of our wider community.