Lara Constable has a smile for everyone, but as we gather to honour our nation's service men and women on Monday, she also has a request.
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Don't leave too quickly after the services.
Take time to connect and to communicate with each other, check in and make sure someone else is going okay.
Coffee Fix - by Larz will be operating after both services Monday morning and $1 from every cuppa will be donated to a cause to support people with PTSD (post traumatic stress).
It's something that's very close to Lara's own heart: it's through connection and communication that the former New Zealand police officer and correctional services officer has embarked on her own journey to healing after some of the experiences she has had.
With hindsight now, she can see that as the only woman in her section of 16 frontline police officers, she carried some of the most emotionally difficult tasks.
"Yeah I'm okay," she'd tell her team.
"Yes ... I was okay," she says now.
"But I was a young mum, I'd go home and still do my motherly duties without processing what had happened."
She did manage, juggling work and family, while she was surrounded by her police family - and continued to do so when she moved to Australia and worked in corrective services.
"I didn't realise over time how many emotions I was actually suppressing ... and then moving rural, out to Bedgerabong, the isolation and the loneliness crept up on me," Lara said.
It all took a toll not only on her but on those she holds most dear, and with their support she reached out to her local GP for help.
Right now she's in a better place and this is thanks to her husband and family, her doctor, her friends and all of you who stop for a chat at Coffee Fix by Larz.
Monday is all about extending that support to others in our community and beyond who need it.
She in no way wants to detract from Anzac observations, rather to extend those reflections and encourage those who are impacted by the day to know that they are not alone.
"There's still people that are suffering ... there are wives, support networks, I just want to bring that whole awareness and acknowledgement," she said.
"It doesn't matter how old you are or what you're doing, it's about communication and connection.
"I'm going to have coffee at the end of the ceremony for people to hang around, talk and engage.
"May the struggles of our past not dictate the journey for our future.
"Together side by side - family as one - we can walk the path of life with admiration, empathy and respect.
"Lest we forget."
