Gratitude goes a long way

As I read through the long list of health, educational, sporting, cost of living, and so on, benefits delivered by Labor’s Jordan Crugnale to the Bass electorate (the Sentinel Times) the ones that I am most grateful for are the ones I list below from personal experience.  

The L Rigby Integrated Care Centre which provides comprehensive cancer care. The importance of an unwell, often weakened person not having to travel for life enhancing treatment, cannot be overestimated.

The inclusion of mental health Professionals in all State high schools as well as mental health programs in primary schools. 

A friend who takes advantage of the high school mental health services since the pandemic, tells me that her family would be lost without it. 

Free kindergarten for three and four year old children. 

Those formative years for children are of the utmost importance in their social and academic development and the financial help to families at this time is important. 

I remember my friend working three jobs to pay her children’s kinder fees and all the other bills that kept on coming.

The last one I will mention is the free dental care for all public primary and secondary school children. 

I remember my mother and I catching a bus and two trams to get to the dental hospital and the student dentist breaking my tooth and causing bleeding. 

My very upset mother, with me in tow, caught more trams and took me to a Collins Street dentist. The very kind man stopped the bleeding, did not charge us and told us to return.

I feel very grateful to live in a country and state where the government cares about its citizens and is prepared to help. 

Felicia Di Stefano, Ryanston