When Ron Morgan first met him, Brian was cautious, and sometimes cantankerous. He’d come to the drop-in centre where Ron offers pastoral care for a meal. Over countless coffees, Brian started to open up. He’d left a difficult home life at 14. Suffering from anxiety, he’d turned to alcohol to cope. After a short-lived marriage, he’d been alone for years.
Slowly, as Ron and others showed Brian he was valued and supported, he began to trust and to believe that things could change. He grew more comfortable asking for help.
In 2014, through Cool Aid’s Community Health Centre (CHC), Ron found medical and mental health care that helped him start to heal. Sadly, as Brian was enjoying his life, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2020. Soon after, he met the Palliative Outreach Resource Team (PORT), who supported him through his illness.
PORT is a mobile service in Victoria for people with life-limiting conditions who face barriers to palliative care due to homelessness, poverty, racialization, stigma, and discrimination. Dr. Fraser Black is PORT’s medical lead and a physician at Cool Aid.
“All through his treatments, even on the hardest days, the Cool Aid team and PORT were there for him, often two or three times a week,” Ron shares. “He loved Dr. Black so much. Even on bad days, he would light up when Dr. Black came in the room.”
Despite cancer treatment, Brian’s disease progressed as did his symptoms and fatigue. The team at Cool Aid continued to follow and support Brian through this time. When Brian passed away in December 2023, Cool Aid staff were the last to leave his memorial. “The team gave him dignity and helped him pass in peace and comfort. Most importantly, he wasn’t alone,” Ron reflects.
As he planned for his death, Brian asked Ron to be his executor. “I was honoured,” Ron says. “Whatever he had, he wanted to give back.”
After his passing, Brian’s belongings were donated to causes he cared most about. His love of children lived on with a gift to a children’s camp, and his gratitude for Cool Aid care was reflected in a donation to its palliative care program.
“Brian’s generosity helps us continue supporting people like him—those facing death in a system not built for their needs. Through Cool Aid, Brian found peace and dignity, and his gift ensures others can as well,” said Dr. Black.
Brian didn’t have much, but he gave what he could—and that simple act of generosity is already changing lives. His legacy is a powerful reminder that every gift matters.