Space to breathe 

When the Welfare Officer of a Geelong primary school suggested that Cottage by the Sea would be a beneficial experience for Grade 6 student Anna* in 2018, she embraced the opportunity with open arms. Little did she know that for the following 6 years, Cottage would become a sanctuary in which she could seek refuge, create lifelong friendships and experience opportunities that would transform her life.

Not long from now, 18-year-old Anna will participate in her last camp at Cottage on the Mentor program. She has journeyed through 27 camps on the REEF and Mentor programs, with many moments from these experiences leaving a lasting impact.

Anna is watching visiting children through the windows overlooking the ocean upstairs at Cottage while her older sister Hayley* and dad Brayden* look on. More than 50 Take a Break participants have just arrived for their 4-day camp and they are about to go boogie-boarding. As the participants squeal in excitement, a smile creeps across Anna’s face. She knows first-hand the magic of these experiences. 

Cultivating lasting connections

When reflecting on her highlights at Cottage over the years, the friendships Anna has forged have been just as notable as the activities. “Starting in REEF was really good because I met most of my friends that I have now and we’ve stayed friends ... We all grew very close,” she shares. “The camps have been pretty phenomenal, but also some of the friends you’ve made,” adds Brayden.  

Friendships that are nurtured through the formative teenage years can cement a lifelong connection, as Anna shares: “My friend Tamkia* and I have been friends since primary school. We went to different high schools, but we still stayed friends.” Going through the Cottage experience together has cultivated a lasting connection. “We’re lifelong friends now. It’s not just something you drift apart from.”

Sense of community

Feeling connected at Cottage has been a key part of Anna’s journey. “I’ve loved it here. It’s always been a community kind of vibe – we’ve always stuck together. I’ve known most of the Camp Leaders for the whole time – all these years,” she shares. 

When asked about her fondest memory from Cottage, Anna’s face lights up. “There’s been so many! The camps are awesome – how they plan them and everything – but it’s also been the sense of community. That’s the part I’ve always loved. You can call up anyone for a chat. The Camp Leaders will be like, ‘It’s okay – you’ve got this.’ They’ll give you advice. They’ll teach you so much,” Anna continues.

“Nothing is ever off-limits. You can talk to them about anything,” adds Brayden. “It’s more like a friend instead of a parent – an older friend to guide you. Especially when you go from being a kid to an adult. They’ve helped a lot with the transition,” continues Anna.

“Anna’s had some challenges along the way, and everybody has always been open and willing to work with Anna. They’ve never restricted what she can and can’t do,” shares Brayden. “No was never an answer,” adds Hayley. “I was unemployed at one stage and couldn’t afford to send her to Cottage and that wasn’t an issue. We had stuff going on at home – Anna needed to be able to ring us whenever she wanted to – and that was never an issue. They’ve been able to understand Anna and see what she’s needed and help her. They do an amazing job,” continues Brayden.

One of the values of Cottage – community – has had such a meaningful impact on Anna that it has shaped how she gives back in her personal life. “Cottage is the reason I’ve felt a real sense of community. We did a lot of volunteering with Cottage – whether it was cleaning out the sand dunes, going to the aged care home (which you can read about here) and now I do volunteering outside of Cottage. I think they really instilled that – participating in the community. It actually makes a difference,” shares Anna.

Supported & celebrated throughout the journey

The family recognises the immense support of the Programs Team and the positive impact they have had on Anna’s journey throughout the REEF and Mentor programs, in particular their guidance through important junctures in life – from primary to secondary school to the workforce, from child to teenager to adult.

“It can be difficult in today’s society to navigate that … if you have people around like the Camp Leaders – being reinforced by different people is good. You tend to listen to other people more than yourself,” shares Brayden.

Anna has first-hand experience and a deep understanding of how important it is to feel supported in this period of life. Brayden likens the support at Cottage to “a sense of family”. “They told us on the first camp – the REEF camp – to think of Cottage as your second or third home,” reflects Anna.

“The Camp Leaders have been phenomenal,” shares Brayden. Not only do they offer support and encouragement, the Programs Team also celebrate the successes and milestones of the participants. ”They’re like your friends. They can join your conversations – they’re a part of the group. They’ve seen us grow up – graduated high school, graduated TAFE. They’re there – they’re having your celebrations with you,” continues Anna.

A camp to look forward to

“No matter what Anna was going through – and there’s been quite a lot – there was always a Cottage camp to look forward to,” shares Hayley as Brayden nods in agreement.

“I got to get out of the house and do stuff that I wouldn’t normally do,” says Anna excitedly. “I wouldn’t normally do stand-up paddle-boarding or kayaking – we just didn’t do that kind of stuff. It was really good that we got the opportunity to do it.”

Hayley has noticed how these new experiences have had a positive ripple effect on the family. “It’s not something you would have thought about doing – but now you do. You’ve had that experience and you try to push me to do stuff like that all the time with you,” shares Hayley as she smiles at her younger sister.

“For Anna, Cottage was a break. Anna was always able to have a break when she came to Cottage. She could relax … she could breathe,” shares Hayley as she looks at their dad who agrees. “No matter what, she had a community … Cottage was this place that Anna could always rely on when she was going through a lot,” continues Hayley. “It was Anna’s support. It was something separate to the rest of the family,” shares Brayden. 

“She’s different when she comes home from camp,” shares Brayden. “The guidance of Camp Leaders has been really important for Anna ... The fact that she’s here, now, is massive … it’s everybody that’s helped her along the way. The benefits have been phenomenal – the changes in Anna are massive,” he continues.

The value of opportunity

“Opportunity” is a word that comes up frequently in the conversation. Each Cottage program – and the camps within each program – offer opportunities for participants to try new activities and have experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to do.

For Anna, some of her most treasured memories at Cottage have been from going to the snow and visiting Sydney. “You talk about the Sydney camp a lot – how you got to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge,’ shares Hayley. “I never thought I’d be able to do that,” reflects Anna ... It was awesome. I’d never seen snow before. It was like a whole new planet!” shares Anna as her face lights up once more.

“Even being away for a week was massive. I don’t think you’d ever been away for a week before. And then going so far from home … the resilience,” shares Brayden. “It was a good opportunity for Anna to build her independence and be self-sufficient. She grew a lot over that camp,” adds Hayley.

A smile creeps across Anna’s face as she remembers an experience from the Sydney camp – singing and dancing to Whitney Houston’s song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. This nostalgic memory has stayed with Anna all these years. “We were all dancing,” she says, laughing. “It was just so reminiscent to look back on it.” She pauses for a moment, still smiling, before adding a final reflection: “You don’t get how hard it is to leave the program once you’ve experienced it and how much it’s impacted you.”

Expression through art

Anna has received a few scholarships at Cottage over the years that have supported her both academically and creatively. “Anna has been really lucky to have got a few scholarships to help her with her art – she’s really creative,” shares Hayley. An art easel and paint brushes through a scholarship have helped Anna use creativity as a form of expression. “At that age, a lot of kids struggle because it’s a very big transition period, and I feel like Cottage was able to help Anna with that because she was able to express herself through art,” shares Hayley.

Taking initiative

On the most recent Mentor camp at Cottage, Anna had a spark of genius for a new activity. Brayden works at a local employment and recruitment service that kindly offered to run a session for the Mentor participants on writing résumés and cover letters in addition to preparing for interviews. A lot of the participants, like Anna, are at the age where they are looking for their first jobs and the team offered one-on-one advice that the Mentors can use in the future to help gain employment.

“The session was Anna’s idea as people are at that stage – résumé writing and looking for jobs. We were talking in the car – you’d just been on a camp and you said, ‘This is what we really need a hand with Dad,’ and I said, ‘If only you knew someone who did that for a living!’” The participants found the session really beneficial. “It gave us a life skill – it gave us something that we can use for the rest of our lives,” reflects Anna.

The “end” is just the beginning

In many ways, Anna sees the end of her time at Cottage as just the beginning. Today, serendipitously, Anna has just completed her Certificate III in Community Services. Her experiences on the REEF and Mentor programs have naturally led her to explore this career pathway.

“I always really liked youth work, and Cottage fuelled that in me. I really want to work in youth work, and especially adolescence because I know how important it is for everyone to feel valued and like they belong during that time. Knowing that some people didn’t have the same opportunities as me is hard. You talk about all this stuff that you did but they didn’t. They didn’t get to feel the same kind of emotions and sense of belonging. And you could see how it actually shapes them as a person,” shares Anna. “When we look at Anna doing her Community Services … in many ways, what she’s seen here and what she’s learned from here has fuelled that – to give to people who have had it worse off than her,” adds Brayden.

When reflecting on how she has grown as a person having had these experiences at Cottage, it’s about expansion. “I’m more open to experiences,” shares Anna through a smile. “Being able to just give everything a go – and not be scared of it … as much as my time at Cottage is ending, it’s kind of only just beginning!” she continues. “Maybe it’s what you’ve learned here that you can take into the next part of your life,” suggests Hayley. 

Hayley suggests how the end of this season on the Mentor program also marks the start of her exciting journey beyond Cottage. “You’ve transitioned through multiple stages of life at Cottage – it’s almost as if those skills you’ve built are preparing you for the transition you’re about to go through outside of Cottage. You’ve gone from primary school to high school and then from high school to being a teenager,” shares Hayley.

For Anna’s last camp at Cottage, she had the option between choosing a multi-day canoe trip or an adventure onsite at Queenscliff. Anna chose the Cottage camp – to finish where it all began. Anna looks at her dad, smiling. “It’s been a wonderful experience and the memories that she’s made from here – she’ll be able to remember them for the rest of her life. We’re so happy that she was given this opportunity,” reflects Brayden.

The turn of seasons

“Hello, stranger!” says a voice from behind Anna. She turns around and sees the delight of a smiling Camp Leader who has overseen Anna’s entire journey at Cottage. They chat about her Cert III, plans for the future and reflect on some notable memories. Every smile, every conversation, every adventure at Cottage has the capacity to shift the entire trajectory of a young person’s life for the better. This has certainly been the case for Anna.

The October afternoon sun is shining as Anna leaves Cottage. The roses are in bloom, birds are collecting nectar from the native flowers and the grass is vibrant green. Spring brings about change, possibilities and opportunities for growth. As Anna’s journey at Cottage nears an end, another door will open to a new season of her life – one grounded in lifelong friendships, remarkable experiences and a strong sense of community fostered from her treasured time at Cottage by the Sea.

*Names have been changed.