04/09/2026
I love to read about positive initiatives like this that can make a real difference
It’s just before 5pm on a Thursday evening, and Dominic Dowling is making hot drinks. The clinking of the metal spoon against the ceramic cup is the first thing you hear when you enter the room.
“Can I get you tea or coffee?” he calls out to visitors. But Dowling isn’t a barista. He isn’t a clinician or a security guard. He is someone who has experienced significant mental health difficulties.
Now, he works at one of the State’s six mental health crisis cafes in hopes of providing help to people when they need it most.