Inner Sydney Thanks You 2026
Now in its fourth year, Inner Sydney Thanks You brought together frontline workers from community and family support organisations across inner Sydney to recognise the important work they do supporting children, young people and families.
Social workers, youth counsellors, Child and Family Specialists, case workers and other practitioners joined us from across the LGAs we support. Their work spans family support, youth services, LGBTQIA+ youth support and a wide range of programs responding to the needs of children and families in our communities.
The morning began with a Smoking Ceremony led by Raph from Dhinawan Yarn and Entertainment, an Aboriginal-owned company delivering cultural education and performances across Australia. The ceremony created an opportunity to come together, reflect and consider the values that sustain people in demanding frontline roles.
We then welcomed Horatio O’Shea for a session on compassion fatigue. Frontline workers regularly support people through complex and difficult circumstances, and the session explored the cumulative impact this can have over time. Horatio spoke about recognising the signs of compassion fatigue and finding practical ways to protect wellbeing while continuing to work with empathy and compassion.
For some participants, the session came at exactly the right moment. As one attendee reflected, “It came at a much needed time for me and my team.” Another said it was valuable simply to have “an opportunity to pause and be recognised.”
That opportunity to connect with others was just as important. Throughout the morning, workers reflected on what continues to motivate them in their roles and shared experiences with people doing similar work across inner Sydney. One participant highlighted “the chance we had to speak with the community workers at our table” as a particularly valuable part of the event.
We finished with morning tea and more time for workers from different organisations and parts of inner Sydney to meet, connect and share experiences.
Inner Sydney Thanks You is about recognising work that can often happen behind the scenes, and creating space for the people doing it to feel valued and connected to the wider sector. We are grateful to everyone who joined us, and to the managers and organisations who took the time to nominate and celebrate their frontline staff.
Did you attend Inner Sydney Thanks You 2026?
Help us make next year’s event even better by completing our short feedback survey:
