Kindness the best remedy for tragedy
IF THERE’S one message we all need to heed during this crisis, it is to be kind, says Ralph Kelly, whose sons Stuart and Thomas would still be alive if people were kinder.
Four years after 18-year-old Thomas Kelly was senselessly killed by an alcohol-fuelled coward-punch in 2012, his younger brother Stuart, then also 18, committed suicide.
“If we had kindness, Stuart wouldn’t be dead and Tom wouldn’t have taken his life,” Mr Kelly said.
“Say to yourself: ‘I’m going to do something kind today’.
“Look and see if people need a hand in the supermarket or the petrol station – and take action. Don’t walk past someone who needs help.
“We’ve got to stay kind. If we do, we have the power to really make a difference.”
Mr Kelly and his wife Kathy run the Stay Kind Foundation, which operates Safe Space Programs every weekend across Sydney, a street volunteer program that has helped 75,000 people get home safely at night. They promote kindness to reduce violence, bullying, hazing and suicide – all things that led to the tragic deaths of their sons.
“And those four areas will increase in coming months as people run out of cash and turn to drugs and alcohol to get through,” Mr Kelly warned.
He said our wellness and mental states were vital during this time and warned that alcohol wasn’t the answer.
“These are times when domestic and other types of violence increase, so our mental state has never been more important,” he said.
“Imagine if we could lead the world in kindness. Imagine how unbelievable we could make this country – and it wouldn’t be difficult for each of us to do one kind thing a day.”
Governor-General David Hurley, also an ambassador for The Stay Kind Foundation, said the COVID-19 pandemic was testing society in ways that no one could have imagined.
“It is stressful and, for some, potentially causing or exacerbating feelings of anxiousness, depression and helplessness,” he said. “Whatever the pandemic brings, however it changes our daily lives, we are better off together, being kind to each other and showing compassion.
“In my time as GovernorGeneral I have visited towns devastated by fires, communities left reeling by drought and others fighting to rebuild from flood. What has stood out is the way people do little things to look out for each other.”
The Year Six students at Elizabeth North Primary School took the kindness message on board when they decided to write thank you letters to the local Coles workers who had struggled with demand and large crowds of customers.
“I read some of the letters,” said school principal Graham Wood. “And they would have given people a real boost. People need a boost at the moment, a sense of purpose, and the children’s letters and cards would have provided that.”
He’s also noticed staff performing random acts of kindness as the number of stay-athome students has escalated in the past week.
“Different staff have been looking after each other as well,” he said. “Sharing hot cross buns, chocolate and lollies.”
CHURCHGOERS can connect with their faith in a safe, isolated way in Tennant Creek, with Father John Kennedy setting his church up outdoors, for locals to walk by.
He said it was important to keep the Christ the King Catholic Church operating to give people hope in trying times.
“We can’t have the church open, people can’t go in so everything inside came out so people can see things and feel some familiarity,” he said. “A lot of our people work in hospital and are under a lot of stress and faith is important to them.
“I thought if I put everything outside, people can come outside one by one.”
He said it was important for people to have outlets to maintain their faith, while also remaining safe and practising social distancing.
“The idea is not so much to get people along, it’s so as they pass and let them know I’m praying for them five times a day to let them know we’re not alone,” he said. “We’ve got a big open area, the church sits on a big open block so physi