Raff Di Bartolomeo has spent a career helping others and guiding them to find what’s important for them. Particularly, those with an interest in looking at how collaboration, connection and intentional action can address social need and elevate the voices of those most impacted. Ultimately, he has focused on others and embraced social innovation to make their lives better. When the effects of a set of physical challenges began to impact on his own professional perception of himself, he eventually had to realise that there were resulting mental health pressures as well. The lived experience from recurring situations, over a period of time, gradually led him to a place where he could manage the process of recovery, identify trauma informed positive action and just acknowledging the importance of the values he lives by.