Hayden volunteering for WA’s State Emergency Services during the recent flooding event in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.
At 22, Hayden joined ReNew Property Maintenance after struggling with years of unemployment and was rapidly losing hope and motivation. Starting his first shift at ReNew in 2020, Hayden has gone on to accomplish an incredible amount in this short period of time. We caught up with him recently to discuss his time at ReNew and where it’s taken him today.
"I had been looking for a job for almost two years prior to that, but I couldn't find anything. Then this opportunity came up, so I took it and started working with ReNew from then on. Shannon and all the bosses saw potential in me to be better. That gave me the motivation to keep working harder, and yeah, eventually after I put in the hours, they started giving me more time on the tools which was a great feeling."
Starting at ReNew on three days a week and gradually progressing to full-time employment, Hayden’s confidence, skillset and rapport with staff and colleagues began to grow.
"Hayden's growth and development during his time at ReNew was remarkable. Before joining ReNew, Hayden came to us facing significant challenges in his life that had him set him on a difficult path. In a normal workplace, he may not have been an obvious candidate to take a chance on. But ReNew is about more than training young people to be landscapers or labourers, it’s about building a sense of pride in young people who’ve lost it along the way, rebuilding self-confidence and that sense of accomplishment that you get from having a job and feeling you’ve done good work. That was certainly the case with Hayden.” - Shannon Barnes, ReNew Property Maintenance.
The ReNew supervisors weren’t the only ones who noticed Hayden’s outstanding work ethic. After just seven months of work, a client of ReNew’s, the Town of Mosman Park, offered Hayden a job in their Parks Department where he has been working full-time for nearly two years. In addition to this role, he has been volunteering with the SES (pictured above) to support clean up efforts in far north WA following a major flooding event at the end of 2022, and he occasionally works part-time with the Australian Army, all with an eye toward his ultimate goal of joining the WA Police Force.
"If I didn't get that work with ReNew, I would not be where I am right now. That’s for sure. It was a big stepping stone for me because at the time, I wasn't motivated at all to really work, you know. ReNew gave me the confidence to do all of this. I also found that to get a job - it's easier to get a job if you already have a job. Employers see that and it means something.”
Despite Hayden’s busy schedule, he remains committed to giving back to the community that supported him on his journey.
"I've said to Shannon before, if he ever wants me to come in and have a chat with the other young fellas and all that about it...if it helps motivate them, or anything, you know, I'm happy to do that too."
Hayden's achievements and ambitions for the future are a source of great pride for his colleagues and mentors at ReNew. We continue to cheer him on as he pursues his dreams, and we are confident that he will achieve even greater success in the future.