Vocational Major

VCE VM The Neighbourhood Café – ‘Gnarly Neighbours’ Excursion

On Tuesday 11th June the Year 11 VCE Vocational Major class attended an excursion to The Neighbourhood Café in Crawford Street. The visit was part of our personal development unit on community organisations. The Neighbourhood is a not-for-profit community group offering a range of different activities for young people. There we met with Jayden, the founder, who showed us around the café, activity and business areas, shared his knowledge and passions with us and discussed his future plans. From skateboard lessons to coffee and printing, there is a lot to see and do at The Neighbourhood. 

Jarrah... Today we all went down to the cafe/skatepark called Gnarly Neighbours. The owner (Jayden) is a really nice guy. I've known Jayden since 2020. Jayden started Gnarly Neighbours in 2019 and is still going. It is to help kids learn to skate, but also way more. He does a lot of things for the community. 

Ebony... The neighbourhood café was a lot better than I was expecting. They were very interesting. I liked it a lot. I would definitely go back there for the merch like the t-shirts and the hoodies but mostly for the hot chocolate that was really good.

Ashlee... When we got there Jayden, the owner, came out and was very welcoming. Then we began walking around the shop and talking about where it all began and how the ideas came along. He told us many plans and ideas he had for the shop and the café, and he even wanted to get our ideas and inputs…The excursion was very interesting, and I learned a lot and I felt very motivated and had a cool but different mindset. That although there may be barriers and you may think there are limits to things if you put your mind to it and work towards what you want, anything is really possible. It’s just about change and determination…He was an interesting and very kind man and had experienced many wonderful things in his life, although he may have had his challenges he got so far and overcame all doubts.

Tom... The Neighborhood Cafe excursion was an eye opening experience. Jayden showed us that you can do so much with so little. Jayden had a hard childhood always being labelled as the naughty kid in school, so when he found out that he was going to be a father at 17 he knew he had to change his ways. Gnarly Neighbours provides a safe place for kids to learn new skills and hangout.

From all the VM students at St Mary’s a huge thank you to Jayden and the team for welcoming us and sharing what you do with us. 

Amanda Hard 

amanda.hard@smseymour.catholic.edu.au

Melissa Wood

melissa.wood@smseymour.catholic.edu.au