AFTER more than four decades helping children as an educator and the CEO of non-profit Kids Foundation, Dr Susie O\u2019Neill isn\u2019t taking a break anytime soon.<\/p>\n
With her organisation turning 30 this year, and Dr O\u2019Neill has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia as part of the 2023 Australia Day honour list, and she said there\u2019s plenty of reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty special because of our anniversary and we\u2019re actually in our strongest period we\u2019ve ever been in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Having worked as an educator since 1980, Dr O\u2019Neill founded the children\u2019s organisation in early 1993 when she visited the Queen Elizabeth Centre with some students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was there, there was actually a young boy staying in the ward with three 90-plus-year-old men,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think the environment was that friendly for children so I met with the director and we created a space called Pete\u2019s Place which I think gets about 600 children for day therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the organisation has since gone from strength to strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe being a schoolteacher, the first young boy, I\u2019d help him with his school work and when it was time for him to leave, there was no support network for burns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe then set up the Burn Survivors network and put together an injury recovery program for kids that had been badly injured or traumatised.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr O\u2019Neill\u2019s output for the foundation has included writing children\u2019s books for their SeeMore Safety program.<\/p>\n
Her latest releases are Let Kids be Kids and When Bad Things Happen Good Things Can Grow: Survivors’ Stories of Hope from the Aftermath of Unimaginable Trauma, Abuse and Burns.<\/p>\n
Dr O\u2019Neill said she\u2019s proudest of the lasting impact Kids Foundation has had as well as passing on her values to her four children and 11 grandchildren.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know for a fact I\u2019ve saved several kids\u2019 lives and that\u2019s the greatest achievement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to make a difference to young people growing up and I\u2019ve got a lot more work to do there working on a mental health program and the benefits of equine therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER more than four decades helping children as an educator and the CEO of non-profit Kids Foundation, Dr Susie O\u2019Neill isn\u2019t taking a break anytime soon. With her organisation turning 30 this year, and Dr O\u2019Neill has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia as part of the 2023 Australia Day honour list, […]<\/p>\n