Meet the Changemakers at 437 Hunter
At Embrace People & Place, we’re fortunate to work alongside remarkable in-house partners who are shaping a stronger, more connected and sustainable Hunter region. Meet the Changemakers at 437 Hunter is our ongoing interview series spotlighting the people and organisations bringing purpose, creativity and community impact to life within the shared space at 437 Hunter.
This issue, we’re speaking with Leigh Creighton and Jen Cush from Hunter Circles. Hunter Circles is a grassroots organisation committed to building freely given relationships so that people with disability can take their rightful place at the heart of community – living big, rich lives filled with purpose, love, connections and equal life chances.
1. For those who may not know Hunter Circles, how would you describe your purpose and the heart of your work in the Hunter region?
For me, it is about making sure people with intellectual disability don’t feel lonely or left out.
Everybody needs friends. Everybody needs people in their life who love them for who they are.
I love seeing people with intellectual disability out in the community, making friends, joining in and feeling like they belong.
I love seeing people at the centre of love.
The heart of our work is relationships and community.
Hunter Circles was set up in 2021 when the large disability institutions in our region finally closed. We recognised that while institutions had closed, the social disconnection they created had not.
Many people were still surrounded mostly by paid supports, with very few unpaid relationships in their lives. We knew there was a real risk that people would move from one form of isolation to another — physically living in the community, but not truly part of it.
So we asked ourselves:
If institutions broke social bonds, what will it take to repair them?
Hunter Circles was created to build Circles of Support around people with intellectual disability who are profoundly isolated — one person at a time.
Instead of relying only on paid supports, we connect people through shared interests in ordinary community life, so relationships can grow naturally.
Because relationships are what help people feel known, connected and part of community.
2. What community needs or challenges does Hunter Circles focus on addressing, and why are these so important locally?
The biggest issue we focus on is profound social isolation experienced by people with intellectual disability.
Many people with intellectual disability still experience profound loneliness and restricted opportunities to build ordinary relationships and community connections.
We see this as a justice issue.
When people do not have family or unpaid relationships around them, there are fewer natural safeguards, fewer people to notice when something is not right and fewer opportunities to be known, contribute and build ordinary connections.
This work feels especially important in the Hunter because institutions only closed recently. We are still living with the legacy of segregation and exclusion.
We have learned that real connection does not come from doing more activities.
It comes through people, shared interests and consistency — going to the same place, with the same people, over time.
Instead of asking:
“What activity are we doing today?”
we ask:
“Who might this person get to know, contribute alongside and belong with?”
Because connection is not something services can create on their own.
It takes community.
3. Can you share a recent moment, story, or achievement that reflects the impact Hunter Circles is creating?
I’m proud of the big wins and the small wins.
We do lots of public speaking and help people understand the human rights of people with intellectual disability. Belonging is a human right.
I am especially proud of our work remembering institutions and honouring the lives of people with intellectual disability who lived and died in them. We made a film called Moving Forward from Institutions, and I think everyone in Australia should watch it.
I’m passionate about making sure people never forget what happened — and that it never happens again.
Some of the moments that stay with us are quiet and pretty ordinary.
People become part of community life in meaningful ways – and start becoming known in ordinary places.
One friendship that grew slowly through shared interests — walking and music. Over time, trust developed, and what started as simply spending time together became a genuine friendship. A visit to family for a birthday later created an opportunity for siblings to reconnect for the first time in decades. Where we can, we try to reconnect families.
Another man reached his lifelong dream of volunteering with a gardening group — the first “job” he had ever had. What mattered most was not just the activity itself, but that people came to know him, value him and notice if he was not there.
At Hunter Circles, success is not about activities — it is about relationships.
What are the biggest challenges you’re currently facing in delivering your work, and what would help make the biggest difference?
A lot of people with intellectual disability feel lonely or left out.
Sometimes people do not get the same chances to make friends or be part of community life. Sometimes people think that because we have support workers, we already have enough people around us.
But support workers are not the same as friendship.
I always say:
“If you don’t have a friend with intellectual disability, then you’re really not trying.”
Ask someone to join in. Invite someone for a walk or to be part of your group.
Small things can make a big difference.
We all want people in life who know us, care about us and genuinely want us around.
Friends are not the icing on the cake of life — they are the cake.
One of the biggest challenges is that systems tend to focus on services and activities, rather than relationships.
Paid support matters and can be a really important bridge — but money doesn’t buy you love.
What would make the biggest difference is communities, services and systems becoming more intentional about helping people build real, freely given relationships.
Because belonging is not the responsibility of the NDIS alone.
It is a community responsibility.
How has being part of the 437 Hunter community influenced your work and the way you collaborate?
Being part of 437 Hunter has felt a bit like finding our people.
As a small grassroots organisation, the space, profile and informal connections here have been invaluable. We are surrounded by organisations that care deeply about justice, community and social change, and there is something energising about being in a place where people genuinely want to collaborate.
Some of the best things happen through conversations over a cuppa or in the hallway.
Importantly, being part of 437 Hunter has also helped shift the conversation.
Too often, disability is seen as the responsibility of the NDIS or disability services alone.
But community cannot be built by systems alone.
It comes from neighbours, clubs, community groups, faith groups and ordinary people deciding to make room and build relationships.
437 Hunter has created space for those conversations — and for people to start asking:
What role might I play?
What is one thing you wish more people understood about the work you do or the people you serve?
I wish people understood that people with intellectual disability are human beings like everyone else.
We can work, have fun times and hard times. We have dreams, talents and lots to offer.
Sometimes people underestimate us.
I want people to get to know us properly and see what is possible.
A good life is not just having support workers.
It is having people who know you, include you and are there for you.
People who love you for who you are.
On a personal note, what motivates you to do this work—and what keeps you hopeful?
What keeps me going is seeing other people with intellectual disability happy, connected and doing things they love.
I love seeing people making friends and feeling included and connected.
Seeing people at the centre of love — that gives me hope.
Seeing people move from profound isolation to having people who genuinely care, notice when they are missing and enjoy being together — that keeps me hopeful.
Seeing community groups — parkruns, nature groups, Landcare groups, music groups, walking groups and faith groups — become more confident and inclusive also gives me hope.
I’m also motivated by the resilience of people who survived institutions — people who experienced profound injustice and exclusion, yet still hold enormous generosity and hope.
That keeps me going.
Finally, what’s your favourite place in the Hunter to unwind, feel connected, or recharge?
Dudley Beach is my happy place. I love watching the waves roll in, relaxing and taking it easy.
For me, it has to be Newcastle Beach. I try to get a swim in every day.
The ocean is healing and restorative for me.
Hunter Circles is a grassroots Newcastle organisation working to end the profound social isolation experienced by people with disability. Founded in 2021, their approach is built on the belief that everyone deserves freely given relationships and a genuine place at the heart of community. Through Circles of Support, they connect people through shared interests in ordinary community life, growing real friendships over time. Belonging is a human right and Hunter Circles is working to make that a reality, one relationship at a time.
To learn more about Hunter Circles or find out how you can get involved, visit huntercircles.org.
