Chef turns life around with a new job

Less than a year ago Brisbane chef David Lucas hit rock bottom on a personal level and was living out of a car but today he is fit and looking forward to owning a home.

David's amazing turnaround followed his visit to the Sarina Russo Job Access office in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.

The employment agency assigned David a consultant and an Indigenous mentor, found him accommodation and helped him with his urgent need for clothes and food.

They also encouraged him to return to his profession as a qualified chef which he had learned in some of Brisbane's most prominent restaurants.

David went on with the help of a consultant to get back on his feet and secure a job with Spotless Catering Services at the Comalco Mining & Refining bauxite mine at Weipa in Far North Queensland.

"I'd been through some bad times in my life and I ended up having nowhere to live because of my personal issues," David said.

"This job has been the key to getting out of my situation. Without it I'd still probably be homeless."

While some might see Weipa - a community of 3500 people about 800 kilometres north-west of Cairns - as too remote, for David it was the perfect location help him save a nest egg which could make a real difference to his life.

"For me the ideal job was to be able to come out to a remote site where accommodation and meals are provided with my salary package," David said.

"Everything on camp is free for me so I have nothing to spend my pay on which is a good thing because my goal now is to save, save, save and hopefully in the near future I'll be able to buy a house." 

"I've been looking at the real estate market and I reckon I'll buy in Toowoomba because houses are still cheap there."

David has also taken the opportunity of free membership to really get in shape, working out in the free gym almost every day.

After three months in the job, David has already impressed his employers so much that they have floated the prospect of promoting him to Camp Manager at a West Australian mine.

But whether that works out or not, David says his new job has changed his life for good.

"Who would of thought I would go from living on the streets to being paid to live in a tropical paradise," David said.

"I'd like to thank the people who have helped me, I am so blessed to have met them."