Yiana Roumeliotis, Community Engagement Officer

“Offering a place where people can come and get medical help, legal assistance, human contact, hot meals… It’s been exciting to see that grow and see it working. We’re also helping doubly – we’re feeding people who need it with nutritious meals, and the food we cook with is rescued. So that connects it to our sustainable philosophies, fighting against waste and stopping food going into landfill where it then causes greenhouse gases.

The social factor is great too. We use long tables where people can sit down. It’s like a big family dinner. We get to know everyone coming along and they get to know one another too. We learn about them on a human level – their names, their stories, their lives, what they think about things… and we’re able to guide them further to where they might get help for other specific problems. It’s fun to be in people’s company and be helpful like that, talking around a fire or even having a dance or singalong or joke while people like The Fijian Community are here playing music for everyone.

I’ve been to a lot of things like this at other places that offer hot meals or a see a doctor or lawyer kind of thing. It all helps. But the energy at Wednesday Night Lights is quite different – it’s just human beings coming together. I have a great sense of pride in that, and I see my own values coming to life. Working at Addi Road, I get to walk the talk, with all of us coming together.”