No Strings Attached: Melissa Redsell from A Brave Life

What does it mean to give without expecting anything in return? For Melissa Redsell, it's not just a philosophy — it's the founding principle of A Brave Life. Adam sits down with Melissa to hear how her own experience as a young mother in crisis became the blueprint for a registered charity now gifting hundreds of baby bundles each week to vulnerable mothers right across Queensland. An honest, hopeful conversation about dignity, determination, and what it really means to show up for someone when they least expect it.

Transcript

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Hi everyone, Adam from Friendship Tree. Welcome to the podcast. Another amazing human with us today, Melissa Redsell from A Brave Life. Met Melissa only a few weeks ago. We've connected amazingly. What Melissa does, her story is incredible. I'd like to introduce Melissa. Welcome. Thank you for having me, Adam. Wonderful, wonderful to have you, Melissa. I guess to start with for our audience, can you give us a quick two-minute rundown about what A Brave Life is and what they do. And then we can move more into your beautiful backstory. Yeah, awesome. A Brave Life is a registered charity. We support vulnerable mothers right across Queensland. So that's vulnerable mothers facing things such as homelessness, domestic violence, perinatal mental health issues, trauma, any form of isolation, crisis or discrimination that you could possibly think of — we support them. So we do two main programs. Our biggest program is our baby bundle program. Through that program, we partner with maternity services right across Queensland to gift brand new nappy bags filled with newborn essentials, so that a mum has those immediate essentials when she turns up to hospital. And then we also run a program for young mothers — a mothers' group called EMALO (Empowering Mothers and Little Ones). That program supports young mums 24 years and younger, giving them a safe space to meet peers, but also providing that wraparound support that they need. So yeah, we're all about empowering mothers and little ones — those mums that are doing it tough out there. What are some fast facts to drive home some of the statistics and the amazing things that you're trying to do? Yeah, so the majority of people in Australia living in poverty are actually women and girls, which is pretty astounding. One in six children are currently living in poverty. Just in Queensland alone in 2025, nearly 10,000 babies were born into poverty in our state alone. More than one third of women sole parents and their children currently live in poverty. So we have a lot of issues going on in this space, and if we can provide those essentials and that support, then hopefully we can help those women and girls out there. Yeah, awesome. Thanks so much Melissa. When you and I chatted a few weeks ago, I'm very fortunate to be speaking to lots of founders, and the thing that really inspires me and the whole team at Friendship Tree is hearing the stories. What's the spark? What were the initial things that led you to where you are today? I would love you to share part of your story — or all of your story — for our community, so people have a really strong understanding about what drives a lot of us in the giving world. Yeah, awesome. Thank you. So I guess my story starts back from when I was a child. If we're going to look at where A Brave Life is today and then go back to that backstory — I grew up in a really dysfunctional home. I probably knew it was dysfunctional to some degree, but when you're a child, you don't really know. You think it might be normal — the fighting, or the silence that goes on for weeks. I grew up in the '70s and '80s, and domestic violence wasn't a word that was used. I don't even think I really knew what domestic violence was even in the early '90s, as I got into late teenage years and early adulthood. Growing up in a home where plates would be smashed and things would be broken, and you'd go to a safe house in the middle of the night — it was really confusing as a child. You're like, I don't know if this is normal. Do other homes look like this? So I grew up from a very young age in turmoil and trauma, with parents who were there but dealing with their own issues. My parents got divorced when I was around 12, so I bounced between homes. I saw a lot of things that kids shouldn't see. I heard a lot of things that kids shouldn't hear. It made me quite a messed up teenager, trying to figure out who I was in this world of chaos. And healthy relationships were never role modelled to me. I love my parents. I feel like they did the best they could possibly do, because they had their own trauma. And so I found myself in an unhealthy relationship as a teenager, and then became pregnant at the age of 16. That was a stop-you-in-the-moment kind of thing. I didn't know any other pregnant teenagers. I was in my last year of high school, trying to navigate an unhealthy relationship — and realising years down the track that it involved domestic violence, a lot of coercive control. What was role modelled to me as a child, I took into another relationship. And then I graduated high school, seven months pregnant. Wow. Yeah, I look back now and think — wow, I just can't believe that was my life or my story. My daughter is 31 now. I graduated high school and was pretty much told: you've ruined your life, you'll never amount to anything, your life is over. This was the early '90s — there was no support for pregnant teenage mothers. You were kind of shunned. I had family that wanted to put me in a home for pregnant teenage girls, because that's where you go when you've messed up your life. Wow. And I know from our discussion that we all reach moments in life where things seem really difficult — and sometimes there's a little spark, a bit of help from someone, something gets said or done. I know you had one of those moments where someone did something for you. Can you tell us about that? Yeah. I was really struggling — being pregnant, trying to finish high school, dealing with all the family dynamics. I couldn't get a job. Nobody was going to hire a pregnant teenager. And a friend of mine turned up one day with a basket that had been gifted to her by a local organisation. To this day, I still don't know where it came from. It had handmade clothes, nappies, and wipes. She turned up and said, "This is for you. This organisation has gifted you this." I just remember being so blown away that somebody who didn't know my story, didn't know me, was kind enough to put something together and gift it to me. That always stayed in the back of my mind — somebody was so generous with their time, their money, their giving. And there were no strings attached. I think that was a big thing for me, because I grew up with a lot of strings attached. So getting something with no strings attached is amazing. Yeah. And it shows the depth of humanity that's still there in some places. Mirroring your experience and what you now carry out for young women — it's almost like a reflection. You've created something based around your own experiences, and there's nothing like having lived that experience yourself to be able to help others through it. So tell me — what was the time period and journey from there? You've got a young daughter, you're starting your life, things feel different, there's possibility, there are people out there who actually care. How did that intertwine with where you are today with A Brave Life? Yeah. So it was many many years down the track. I was fortunate enough to get into university when my daughter was one. I was the first person on both sides of my family to ever go to university. Nobody talked about that. But my life was really out of control in that first 12 months after she was born. I didn't have support, I didn't have guidance, I didn't have anybody to wrap their arms around me and say, "This is how to be a good parent." I was still dealing with a lot of trauma. But I knew I had to give my daughter a really good start in life. So I enrolled in university and fell into nursing — it wasn't my first choice, I didn't really even know what nurses did, but that's what I got into. I was able to finish my nursing degree, partly because I met some really amazing people at university. And finishing that degree was the game changer, because it changed the trajectory of my life and my daughter's life. It gave me financial freedom. It gave me the courage and independence that I could achieve things. I worked as a registered nurse and always knew I wanted to become a midwife — because when I was pregnant and when I had my daughter, the judgment and stigma I received in hospital was just horrendous. You were still somehow "bad" even though you had this little baby. The midwives would say things like,  "This is your responsibility, not your mother's," and it was constantly negative. So I wanted to go back and become a midwife, to be able to let someone else know: your journey may look different and it may be hard, but it's not the end of the world. I worked as a midwife for many many years, and I would see mums turn up to hospital without the essentials they needed. Mums that were not engaging with health care providers because of what was going on in their lives. And I was still seeing young mums turn up to have their babies and receiving that stigma and judgment. We're in 2026, we've come a long way — we're not taking babies from young mothers like we did in the '50s, '60s, '70s — but that underlying stigma and bias is still there. And then they were turning up to hospital to have their baby. They had their own trauma, and they hadn't finished high school. Or "I really want to become something, but I don't know how".

So I thought: 11:48

I'm just going to do what I can. If I can share my journey and change one life,  that's going to be amazing. I literally didn't set out to start a charity — I think a lot of charity  founders say that. I just wanted to use my story to impact somebody else. I started to gift stuff. So I went out shopping, put together some items, and rocked up to local community groups. I looked at what services in my area were supporting young mums, and I'd just go and say, "If people are telling you you'll never amount to anything and your life's over — that's not the case. Because I'm living proof of that." Absolutely. You're the walking reality of what's possible. Yeah. And it wasn't easy. Sheer determination, I always say. When people say you can't do something, I've got a bit of an "I'll show you" attitude. I don't know if that was overly healthy, but — Oh look, I share that with you. Used in the right purposes, it's damn good. Yeah. I really just wanted to make sure other young women didn't feel alone. That's how A Brave Life started. Within 12 months it was a registered charity and people were asking, "How can we donate?" And I was like, "I don't know, let me figure that out!" And here we are, 10 years down the track. Congratulations, by the way. Thank you. And just listening to your story — this is what giving is. It starts with one thing. You started with one basket, helping one person, and now it's 10 years deep. What are the numbers — how many young women have you been in touch with? Yeah. So through our different programs — with our baby bundle program, I don't always meet the end recipient. And I think that's great too, because it's gifted through maternal services — midwives, social workers, health care providers. We want to improve those maternal and infant outcomes by ensuring they have those basic essentials, so we can give newborns a healthy start. We're gifting hundreds of bundles a week. In the early days it was maybe 800 a year — in the last 3 months we've gifted 1,500 baby bundles right across Queensland. We've had 146% growth in the last 3 years. And the good thing with the baby bundles is they don't just go to young mothers — they go to mothers of all ages dealing with crisis. Homelessness, domestic violence, isolation, refugees, couch surfing, mothers who've moved to a new town. We've had mums giving birth in towns they don't even live in, travelling 100 to 300 kilometres just to give birth to their child. And then with our young parents program, I've mentored a couple of hundred mothers over the last 10 years. That could be seeing them finish high school, being there for their formal, getting their hair and makeup done — to now running a mothers' group. But it's not just a mothers' group. It's a wraparound service where we provide support services across different topics over 10 weeks. And we get them connecting with their peers, because they're lonely, still dealing with stigma and judgment. We just want to give them the encouragement that they can be a good mother. Yeah. And the other thing about the baby bundles — when people are in need, especially young mothers, the fact of receiving a basket full of brand new items rather than recycled or donated goods — can you tell us a little about the thinking behind that? Yeah. When I was gifted a basket all those years ago, it was brand new stuff. Nothing wrong with secondhand, but to receive something new really stuck in my mind. Then as a midwife — we've got a precious brand new life, and we want to give them a healthy start we're giving the products they need. For some women, they've never received anything new. They feel seen, they feel valued. There's a sense of dignity, a reassurance that they can look after their baby. You can imagine — someone who's couch surfing, who doesn't have much, turns up to hospital and their midwife hands them a brand new nappy bag filled with newborn essentials. They feel like all the other mothers there. They don't carry that stigma and shame. They think, "Actually, I can give my child these things." We want to impact both mum and bub. We put hygiene items in there for mum aswell. And ensure the bundles are great quality products. They are a. great way for health care providers to engage women who wouldn't necessarily engage otherwise. If you're vulnerable, you're less likely to engage with health care providers because of shame, stigma, worry about what might happen to you or to the baby. But a midwife or social worker can give them a baby bundle, sit down, and have a natural conversation — and that's the feedback we get. We did an evaluation of the program recently and 60% of recipients who participated live below the poverty line. So 60% of those people received brand new items. When you look at the broader picture, confidence comes from self-worth. And self-worth is built on feeling that people care, feeling seen, and how you feel about yourself. So that's an incredibe thing that you're doing. From the whole Friendship Tree team — hearing your story and seeing the impact — everyone has good intentions, but it's the impact that our community, supporters and donors really want to see. Well done for that. Oh, thank you. Second thing — it's also good to shed some light on building an organisation from the ground up, which you've done. Can you tell us a little about what's been super challenging over the last decade? What were the pivotal moments? What felt insurmountable or was really painful? Oh yeah. I should have had a business background — I always say that. I'm just a registered nurse and midwife by trade. We started small — it started on my dining room table, packing bags, then I took over one bedroom, then a second bedroom, then the garage, until my family were like, "Okay, you're taking over the house. You need to go." Navigating engaging funders, applying for grants — all of those things. But my biggest goal was a space where we could grow. A building we could run our baby bundle program from and that would go right across Queensland — and also a safe space for young mothers to come. That seemed forever away when you're working out of your house, a couple of years in, still working as a midwife because you have to support your family financially. It felt like — are we ever going to get there? Are we going to have that building? Are we going to have the impact I imagined? Initially you start with one bag, then 10, then 100, and then you want to be right across the state, and then you think — okay, now I want to go into other states. We're fortunate now that we do have a warehouse, we can run the program, we have a safe space for young mothers. But if I look back 10 years ago — or even 5 years ago — I probably couldn't have dreamt what it would look like today. I feel so privileged and honoured that I get to do what I do. It's not something you get to do every day. No. And from a donor's point of view — I know you don't always see the recipients, but from the ones you have seen and the impact you're making — what's that feeling like? You spoke about it from your own experience as a young mum when somebody reached out and gave you something new, something clean, like a new start. What does it feel like still today when you see that little shift in a new mother? Yeah. I love getting messages from people who've received a baby bundle. They'll say they burst into tears — that same feeling — somebody who didn't know them, how could they give this to them? Some say, "I didn't feel like I was worthy enough to receive it. There are probably people doing it harder than I am." They're just overwhelmed. They can't believe someone would gift them something. And they'll say it gave them the confidence that they could actually do this, that they could be a good mother. "I had nothing for my baby because I couldn't afford anything, and my midwife handed me a baby bundle." And we'll get mums who've been gifted a baby bundle and then come along to our mothers' group — they'll turn up with their backpack on. That's a full circle moment for me. They got gifted a bundle, heard about our program, came in, and we're able to support them. Recently we had a mother who was gifted a baby bundle, and then when she could financially, she donated back to us so we could support another mother. Wow, that's beautiful. Yeah. And obviously receiving goods is fantastic — but can you open up a little about the mentoring, the conversations, the support side? We all want to be spoken to, understood, heard. Can you tell us about that?

EMALO — which stands for: 23:56

Empowering Mothers and Little Ones Came out of years of research and listening to young mothers in the community. We still have this notion that when a young mother has a baby, if she hasn't finished high school or gone to university, we need to be pushing her in that direction. And that's fine if that's what she wants to do. But for some young mothers, that's not what they want right now — or they're dealing with so much trauma they can't think past just caring for themselves and their child.

So I thought: 24:35

let's go and find out what they actually want. There's no point giving support people don't actually need it. We partnered with a local university, spent about two and a half years doing research and surveys. And the biggest thing young mothers were saying was they were still feeling stigma and judgment in healthcare settings. But they were also struggling to find mothers' groups where they could meet other young mothers and feel connected. As humans, we just want to feel valued and seen. We want to belong somewhere. So we designed it as a soft entry — they can come, meet other mothers, we give them morning tea, we pamper them, and we run different topics over 10 weeks. Perinatal mental health specialists come in, we do first aid and CPR, baby massage, all sorts of activities. And they start to make friends. You watch them, and it really is creating community. Some of these mothers come from awful backgrounds with serious trauma. Some are dealing with domestic violence — and we're then able to refer them to more specialised services. If they need more intensive parenting support, we can connect them with local programs. It's really that entry point into a space where they feel comfortable. The 10 weeks ends and they're like, "Can we come back?" So we just stay in contact with them. And do you see there's still a lot of growth that can happen? There are obviously gaps in our healthcare system — Oh, tell me what you see. How much more can be done? I think there are definitely gaps in how we treat people. I don't think that's just for young mothers. There needs to be space to allow dignity for people no matter what they're going through. If we allow them to come in and feel seen and heard, they're going to get the health care they need. That stigma and judgment for young mothers means they're not likely to engage. If we can break down those barriers, that would make a real difference. And we need to look at people from a holistic point of view — sometimes we're just treating them physically when there's so much more going on from a mental health perspective. And we know mental health issues are on the rise. Well, Friendship Tree is 100% behind Melissa and everything that A Brave Life is doing. Melissa, just to wrap up — speak directly to what people can do. How can they get in touch and help? Clear direction about what you need really helps. I'm sure there's people out there that know of someone or has been in this position. Such an important topic, and one that we need to get behind, donate and build awareness. Yeah. Jump on our social media platforms — A Brave Life on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn — follow us so you can learn more about the work we're doing. Host a baby bundle drive in your workplace, your community, with your friends, so we can gift those items to someone doing it tough. And also just realise there might be people in your world going through something that might need a bit of help. Jump on our website, refer people to our programs, or just have those conversations within your own household — about what it looks like for somebody who is struggling, going through crisis, isolation, or discrimination, and how we can support them. Wonderful. And Friendship Tree is incredibly grateful to be partnering with A Brave Life and yourself. A massive thanks for today. Thanks for coming into the podcast studio and for sharing your story. Stories are so important — they're really the basis of what we do at Friendship Tree. We're 100% behind you, and we're looking forward to a wonderful long relationship with A Brave Life. Congratulations on all your incredible work. Thanks, Adam. And thank you to Friendship Tree. We're so excited to be partnering with you, to share our story, and to provide support to many more vulnerable mothers out there — ensuring that both mum and child have a healthy start and the support they need. We're super excited. Thank you. Thank you — and thank you to everyone watching. It reinforces that small actions, small things, turn into big things. They come from partnerships and from community support. Thanks for watching. We'll chat next time.