JUST after he became a teenager, Newcastle lad Peter's confidence and brio earnt him a job.
"There used to be a paper shop next to the old Post Office and I walked past and said, 'Hello! Can I be a paper boy?' and they gave me a stand on the corner of the Crown & Anchor," Peter, who goes by the nickname of Shoey, recalls with a grin.
Now 66, his life has been one of "ups and downs and turmoil": school at Carrington Primary and then Newcastle Junior High, a job at the dockyards, a prison stint, heroin addiction, and fatherhood to three now adult sons, one of who he lives with.
Through it all, Shoey has remembered the words his mum, Ina May, taught him and his four siblings. Advice that no doubt led to his paper boy gig.
"I came from a struggling family, we never had a dad because he left. Mum taught me to always comb my hair and to clean my shoes but she said the most important thing was to say hello to people and have good manners," he says.
Shoey's face and story is among those that grace Soul Cafe's inaugural Story of Soul calendar. The project emerged spontaneously just after the Hunter Street charity held its annual Sleepout for Soul event.
When the event was threatened by COVID-19 restrictions, Newcastle businesswoman Jodi O'Connor and her husband Raz and their design company Ronnoco played an integral role - aided by volunteers of the Collective Heart community group - to ensure that the event could be staged online.
O'Connor won the Hunter Business Chamber's COVID Business Hero award for her efforts and when Soul Cafe CEO Rick Prosser wanted to get the calendar off the ground, she was his first port of call.
"I went in to talk to them about it and they were saying they would [take calendar images] with an Iphone and I said, no, we'll get professional ones," says O'Connor, who has lengthy experience in magazine publishing.
"My husband said it needed to reflect the heart and soul of people, which is why you see close-up portraits.
"We wanted people to understand the subject's story, and how Soul has supported them on their journey."
Sponsored entirely by Newcastle businesses, the calendar has been a collective effort. O'Connor worked with Soul Cafe manager Matthew Ortiger and volunteers including Tess Martin, Amy Stanton, Penny Holt and Sam Barnes. Photographers Lee Illfield and Myf Garven donated their time and WHO Printed offered a generous discount.
The calendar follows a tough period for Soul Cafe, which was not only hit with increased demand during COVID-19 but was also forced to tweak its operations to continue its myriad services to the homeless and vulnerable during the lockdown and beyond.
"With all the restrictions on spacing we moved it down to the street and fed people there for about six months, on average 100 meals a day," says Rick Prosser's wife Sue, who is Soul Cafe's kitchen manager.
"We did see an increase in our pantry service, which we started because we were inundated with food from surrounding cafes that shut. Anyone in the community - not just homeless and vulnerable but people who had lost their job - can come in and fill up with groceries and fruit and vegies and bread."
Shoey was on hand to volunteer at Soul Cafe during the pandemic and could well understand the emotions and situations of those he supported.
Five years ago, the Kotara resident sought help from Soul Cafe, initially seeking breakfast and lunch. He then attended a Self Management and Recovery Training (SMART) program to help his ongoing recovery.
"I've been clean for 20 years since my boys were born, they gave me inspiration to be a better father ... but I wanted to stay on track," Shoey says.
He is now a facilitator of the SMART program after he went to Sydney to complete the training, funded by Soul Cafe.
Shoey relishes helping others who are in a position similar to the one he has found himself in many times.
"The big word for me is compassion - just showing compassion and helping people," he says.
"Having compassion means in your soul, which is the name of the Cafe funny enough. I am putting something back into my life by giving and sharing and trying to understand people, and it's helped me tremendously."
The SMART program helps participants talk about thier lives, helping them to self motivate, and plan for the future.
"It's one step at a time. We keep it nice and simple," Shoey says.
It's a modus operandi that has kept him going in his darkest moments, too.
"I have had to push through things a lot," he says. "It hasn't been easy and I still struggle but I take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and keep busy. Even though I am not paid, I still keep busy."
He recently helped a newcomer to his program, a woman he recalls as "about 35, academic and smart".
"Her whole life was on the brink and when she left she said 'I'll see you next week, Pete", and it just gave me inspiration that I had helped someone."
Shoey remains grateful for the Cafe and its staff, who he says make him "strive to be a better person, share and have compassion".
"I think the big man upstairs has got something in store for me because for a bloke at my age to do what I do, with the life I have led in the past, it's a big one," he says.
He plans to see his sons at Christmas, and a best mate who is a drug counsellor at Morrisset, and he'll be working at the Cafe.
"It's a really busy time there," he says.
His wishes for the New Year are simple.
"I hope things go right with my family, that they are safe and healthy and myself included. Just praying for a better life."
Bobby, 52, is another "star" of the Soul Cafe calendar, a regular at the Cafe's breakfast and lunch guests and a fan of its new pantry service.
"It's not until you are doing it tough that Soul Cafe comes into its own," he says in his gravelly voice.
Like Rick Prosser, Bobby attended Lambton High and once held a builder's licence.
He ran into tough times, his 20-year marriage broke down, and is now on a disability support pension.
"I live at Kahibah in my own place, I ended up winning in the end," the former surfer says.
Having experienced homelessness, he has some advice to impart.
"Don't prejudge the person on the street doing it tough, you might find yourself there yourself," he said.
"One thing I did want to do if I was ever successful and making money was to have helped the homeless - it is one of the worst things not having a house and falling out of work and being on the pension.
"I needed help myself, things can turn around for people."
Beyond hoping he can get his shoulder operated on soon, Bobby feels lucky.
"I am pretty happy regardless of my problems I know there are always people out there with worse problems than me, I just want my health to get better so I can surf more," he says.
He plans to spend Christmas relaxing near the beach and visiting friends and is looking forward to a better 2021.
Without a TV in his house, he was unaware the pandemic was so serious until someone told him in the street to go home.
"We are lucky in Australia, we can whinge about our politicians but at least they have listened to the experts. I am hoping they do the same for climate change," he says.
He has quiet aspirations for the new year.
"I would just like to be a better person and I wish everyone would be more tolerant of each other rather than being quick and abrupt, people get caught up in their own world and they need to empathise with each other and say g'day."
Rick Prosser says the calendar project is an idea three years in the making that has finally come to fruition.
"We try to look after our volunteers the best we can and I thought why don't we do it and we can give the calendars to volunteers and make them available," he recalls.
In his view, the calendar is a reflection of Soul Cafe.
"It helps tell the stories of people and I think that's the big thing," he says.
"Someone recently asked me how do you measure what you do - well in the end sometimes they are people's stories and journey, how they come through difficult circumstances, and this captures that."
The calendar costs $20, with every cent returned to Soul Cafe for its operations.
O'Connor hopes the Cafe can raise about $45,000 if, she laughs, Prosser doesn't give too many away.
She is passionate about helping Soul Cafe because she knows from her volunteering there that it is changing lives. Which might explain why, despite the organising chaos, she thinks the calendar may become an annual fixture.
"If it is a success it would be silly not to!" she says.
The 2021 Story of Soul calendar can be purchased via Soul Cafe's website, at Westfield Kotara on December 14 and 15 and Junction Fair on December 16 and 17.
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