13/08/2026
At the beautiful funeral service for Grant today I was going to read out the tribute I wrote for him if there was time. However, I am so pleased and grateful that his family had so many beautiful and heartfelt things to say about him that I didn't have the opportunity. I already wanted to post my words here, though, because I believe the way he served others is a message and a master class in Life for us all.
Grant and I co-founded Signal Flare, our charity that supports our homeless and others in need. Grant was passionate about helping our homeless in any way he could, whether it was literally giving away the shirt off his back, buying someone lunch and listening to their story, reuniting a homeless child with his mother who had been worried sick about him, or of course organising our BBQs.
Grant had this strong drive because, in his own words, "I want to be the person I needed when I became homeless". It was his holy mission because he deeply understood that no matter how strong and independent you are, homelessness can be one of these extreme times when you just need someone to listen, to take your hand, to tell you it's going to be okay and to tell you what you need to do and what to look out for. Grant was that person to many, many people. It mattered more to him than almost anything.
To Grant, it didn't matter whether you were homeless or not. He would treat you just the same - with kindness and respect. He used to say, "when you look at homeless people and you take away the word "homeless", all you see is people". And that is how he lived his life, every day. He simply saw people. Full stop. Not intimidated by titles and not prejudiced by circumstances. But always, and simply, people.
And if you are wondering what you can do to remember or honour Grant, it is to continue this attitude. Grant sprinkled kindness, hope and positivity, lots of it, generously, left, right and centre wherever he went to whoever he met, no matter who the person in front of him was. We can all do a bit more of that, on Grant's behalf and because that is who we are. We can all help our fellow humans better. We can all care a little more, We can all grow a little kinder. That would be Grant's legacy. He would be so proud.
I can just picture him sitting there on his little heavenly cloud in the skies, looking down on us, smiling his big smile and being proud because he likes what he sees: a community that is flourishing, and that is more loving, more understanding and more inclusive than the community it was before he touched it. Thank you, Grant. Fly high... 🕊️
Much love, Berni ❤️
