When Scott talks about his past, he does it quietly, not out of shame, but out of awe that he somehow found his way back to the man he used to be. 

For nearly four decades, Scott lived under the weight of a diagnosis that was never his. Prescribed benzodiazepine after being told he had epilepsy, he followed the instructions he trusted. Thirty-eight years later, he was suddenly told he didn’t have epilepsy at all and to stop taking the medication immediately. 

“The worst thing I could ever do was stop cold turkey,” he recalls. “I hit the wall. You’ve seen drug addicts that are cranky, mean and nasty? I was like that for eight years after stopping my medication.” 

Scott’s world shrank quickly. A nurse and a carer were assigned to him, but they lasted only minutes in his presence. He isolated himself, pushed everyone away, and lived inside a mind that wasn’t his own. He sold his three properties just to stay afloat. Every day was a cycle of survival and self-blame. 

“What happened, happened but I can’t dwell on it. When you’re on benzos, your mind is not your own,” he says. “You think bad thoughts all the time. I knew it wasn’t my mind that was making these bad thoughts; it was the pills. And I knew that I had to overcome that.” 

In the middle of this struggle, Scott found a companion who refused to leave his side — Molly, a Border Collie–Blue Heeler cross, born without ear flaps and bullied by other dogs. “She rescued me, and I rescued her,” Scott says. “I believe God sent her to me to help me through the hard times.”  

With Molly by his side, Scott began to heal. Part of this process was meeting HeartWorks Employment Mentor Bianca Zanella through Uniting Care. Bianca introduced him to the Rosies’ HeartWorks program and a new pathway to work with employment partner Fulton Hogan.  

After working to get his mind straight, Scott began hovering around the edges of employment again – attending “stop-and-go” training, sitting in on short courses at the library and trying to rebuild the confidence he wasn’t sure he still had. When Bianca and the HeartWorks team told him about an opportunity with the Fulton Hogan, Hull, Mcilwain joint venture team (delivering the Coomera Connector Stage 1 Central project), Scott put his hand up immediately. 

His first day on site was shaky. “I was really nervous,” he says. “Not sure of myself. Still not really sure of myself, but easing in.” 

From the moment he walked onto the worksite, Scott found himself surrounded by something he hadn’t felt in years – patience, encouragement, and mateship. 

“I’ve been very open with all the boys I work with, and they have really accepted me,” he says. “They want me to do good and they’re going, ‘calm down we’ll get you through it.’” 

From the moment he put on his uniform, Scott’s situation began to change.  “It made me feel great. Just really good. The support they have given me makes me feel on top of the world, I get teared up sometimes.” 

On his first day, the team provided Scott with a “proper” kit– a tool bag, hand tools, hammers and a nail belt; a gesture that meant more than anyone expected. 

“It made me feel special and that I belonged,” he says smiling wide. 

On the other side of Scott’s journey is Andrew Simonson, known universally as “Simmo”, the Structures Superintendent on the project. The project’s people and culture team identified Simmo as the ideal manager to mentor Scott on his journey back to employment. 

Simmo knew that finding the right environment for Scott would make all the difference. 

“It was just about finding the right team, the right supervisors,” he says. “We put him with a veteran supervisor, someone experienced, steady, and who’d make Scott feel comfortable.” 

From day one, Simmo’s goal was simple: set Scott up for success. 

And Scott noticed. 

“There’s been no pressure on me whatsoever,” he says. “Sometimes I turn up and wander around looking for things to do and I’ll do the little jobs the boys don’t want to do like putting tape on things and what not. They are all busy and doing other stuff so I’m happy to do it.” 

For Simmo, those “little jobs” are the glue that holds a construction site together.
“Those little jobs support everyone,” he says. “They matter.” 

Scott started slowly, just three days a week. He pushed himself to four, got exhausted, stepped back, then stepped forward again each time supported by Bianca, Simmo and the entire Coomera Connector Central project team. Over time, something in him began to change and Simmo noticed straight away.  

 “He was anxious at the start. The induction process is confronting; big rules, big risks. But now? He’s gone from small tasks to working with cranes. That’s a massive change.” 

Scott feels it too. 

“It’s regrowing those nerve endings I’ve lost,” he says. “I’m slowly getting it all together again.” 

With steady support from HeartWorks, the Coomera Connector Central project team and his supervisors, Scott now works full-time.  

These days, Scott feels something he had forgotten was possible – pride. 

“I’m saving a thousand dollars a week,” he says. “Putting $500 into Super. Supporting myself getting back to where I used to be.” 

His world has grown bigger too. He’s leaving the house more, playing mixed social tennis again on Thursday nights, laughing, going on adventures with Molly and thinking forward. 

“It’s just given me a new lease on life,” he says. “I’m back living again.” 

Programs like Mates in Construction have helped him find his voice, sharing openly about his experience with his workmates. And because others went first, Scott now finds himself encouraging colleagues who struggle too. 

“The ice has been broken,” he says. “It’s easier to open up with the guys now”. 

For Simmo, supporting Scott hasn’t just been meaningful, it’s been easy. 

“It’s been effortless,” he says. “A good journey from whoa to go. Scott’s been a prime example of how good it can work.”

He’d take another HeartWorks participant tomorrow. 

“If you can help someone who’s had a hard knock, or just been unfortunate, get them back to where they were, it’s worthwhile.” 

Scott agrees wholeheartedly. 

“Every company should get on board and help,” he says. “There’s a lot of people out there that just need a second chance.” 

Once isolated, fearful and unsure if he had a future at all, Scott is now a testament to what is possible when that second chance arrives with patience, structure and genuine care. 

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel now. In the beginning, I wasn’t confident in going through an interview or anything like that. I didn’t have tickets and licenses to go for just a normal construction job. And I don’t think anyone would have employed me because I was just so nervous and unsure of myself. I just needed someone to hold my hand and take me through it. Bianca and HeartWorks did that for me,” he said.  

In December of last year, Scott completed his six-month probationary period with Fulton Hogan and celebrated eleven years free of alcohol and drugs.  

Scott’s journey reflects the broader impact of the partnership between Rosies – Friends on the Street and the Coomera Connector Central project team. While his return to work is a powerful individual success, the partnership extends far beyond one story. 

As Rosies’ Social Impact Partner for 2026, the team is working alongside Rosies to support people experiencing homelessness across the northern Gold Coast, creating meaningful outcomes that strengthen individuals, workplaces and communities.