What does it really take to bring community back together? Sometimes it starts with a pair of boots.

Mel Knuckey has spent her career doing the quiet, essential work of community connection - from her early days as a shy 18-year-old joining Rotaract on the Central Coast, to running 16 intergenerational programs across Tasmania in under a year as Community Programs Coordinator at COTA Tasmania.

In this conversation, Mel reflects on finding her purpose, the moment something "just clicked" working in community development, and why she believes real change happens on the ground

We talk about:

*The Generations Connect Tech Together program, connecting young people with older residents in residential aged care homes across southern Tasmania through digital literacy and genuine friendship

*Student Sophie, who came in wanting to work in childcare and left with a traineeship in aged care, one of many young people now considering careers they'd never imagined

*The very real aged care workforce crisis, and why intergenerational programs might be part of the solution

*What it means to embed these programs into school curriculum at Years 9 and 10 (and the funding reality that sits behind that vision)

*The AIIP (Australian Institute of Intergenerational Practice) and the growing movement of practitioners across Australia and New Zealand working toward systems change

*And the boots. The beautiful, bold, mandala-printed boots that have sparked more genuine conversations in aged care homes than any icebreaker activity ever could.

"Working in community was where I felt really alive and found my purpose in life." — Mel Knuckey

If you have an old tablet or smartphone you no longer use, or new ones you would like to donate COTA Tasmania would love to hear from you. Reach out via the Heart & Soul Story socials and we'll connect you with the right people.

A huge thank you to Hazel Brothers , Tasmanian family-owned builders, for donating 25 tablets to the program.

That's community in action.

Bringing Community Back Together is hosted by Samantha Heron, founder of Heart & Soul Story

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Connect with Mel:COTA Tasmania — cotatas.org.au

Connect with Sam:heartandsoulstory.com

Join the movement to transform how we feel about ageing:

https://goodflock.org/get-involved/