On Friday 13th January 2023, Ben Jennings and his son Ashah were heading out for a fishing trip from Brunswick Heads in Northern NSW. It was the day before Ashah's 13th birthday. Ben is an experienced skipper who has been traversing the river mouth sandbar for over 18 years. Unfortunately on this day Ben & Ashah were unlucky. As they headed out from the break walls, a freak set of waves overwashed and capsized their boat. Knocked over by their awning and thrown into the sea, they were both tremendously lucky, it could have easily been much much worse.

Ben & Ashah managed to find their way to shore. With the help of bystanders, the Volunteer Marine Rescue and friends they managed to haul the boat to the shore where it was later salvaged by a professional salvage company from the Sunshine Coast.

The initial outcome for this father and son was shock and disbelief, alongside some thankfully minor physical bumps and bruises. The psychological impacts on Ben's well-being however have been tremendous. Since this devastating accident, he has been suffering from PTSD which is impacting both his ability to function on a day-to-day basis, as well as his ability to work. This emotional and psychological trauma has manifested physically, with Ben spending his time and most of his savings since the accident on rehabilitating himself on a path towards wellness.

Ben is humbly seeking help from the community on his journey to get back on his feet. Ben has been living in the Northern Rivers for almost 2 decades and has been an active part of the community throughout this time. Ben has already spent over $3,000 on his rehabilitation and is seeking support to continue this journey of recovery. He is asking for $10,000 to cover his medical expenses and be able to support himself over the next couple of months, with a longer aim of being able to get back to work.

We as Ben's friends have put our hands up to help Ben as he struggles to be able to ask for help. We have witnessed first-hand the impacts upon him, seeing how he has struggled with his recovery and his feelings of unworthiness in asking for money from strangers. At the very least this process itself is part of Ben's healing journey and starting to receive the support he needs.