We are excited to announce Scott Andrews from National Centre for Childhood Grief as your 2023 Westfield Local Hero for Westfield Hornsby!

Westfield is proud to award a community grant of $20K to help Scott and National Centre for Childhood Grief to continue to grow their impact in the local community

The 2023 Westfield Local Heroes program will award 126 grants across Australia and New Zealand – totalling $1.26 million to support local communities.

For further information or to discover the Westfield Local Heroes at other Westfield centres, visit the Westfield Local Heroes website.

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Your 2023 Westfield Hornsby Local Hero is:

Scott Andrews

National Centre for Childhood Grief

Kind. Caring. Understanding.

Empathetic Scott Andrews helps children and their families grieve healthily after the death of a loved one.

Scott is a Bereavement Counsellor at the Hornsby-based National Centre for Childhood Grief, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to caring for children following the death of a parent, sibling or another loved one.

The centre provides free individual counselling, group programs, adventure camps and other support to 100 children and 200 adults each year in the Hornsby area alone.

Scott knows how intensely vulnerable children are after a parent or sibling dies and that they need sufficient and appropriate support.

As an experienced social worker, he goes above and beyond to build a connection with families, helping them learn to live with their grief and develop their coping skills and resilience. Through his work, he enhances children’s ability to live a full and meaningful life.

Scott’s reward is the positive feedback he receives from grateful families and seeing children re-finding love, security and joy after their devastating loss.

Scott feels motivated by his nomination as a Westfield Local Hero. “With our help, children and families don’t need to grieve in isolation and compromise their mental health, social connection and education,” he says.

The National Centre for Childhood Grief will use its funds to build a garden pavilion counselling space for children at its Hornsby centre.

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We'd like to thank and acknowledge our finalists who will receive a $5K grant for the organisation they represent...

Jo Grant from Hornsby Connect

Jo Grant works tirelessly to provide people with dignity, food and connection. As the volunteer manager of Bill’s Café at Hornsby Connect, she does her best to create a comfortable place for clients to socialise and connect with volunteers, counsellors and each other after collecting a food hamper or when just dropping in.

Senior Constable Lisa Brown from New South Wales Police Force - Youth Command

Senior Constable Lisa Brown has spent more than 10 years building strong and trusting relationships with young people in Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai. As a Youth Engagement Officer for the NSW Police, she is a mentor and role model for more than 100 young people a year, encouraging them to make the most of their life.

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If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 13 11 14

Recognising all our 2023 nominees

View all of the Westfield Hornsby nominees and their organisations.