Stuart Kelly (Thomas Kelly's brother) - The Project 4th July 2014

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• published: 02 Aug 2014
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Stronger sentence 'to deter alcohol-fuelled violence' Stuart Kelly, who was 14 when his older brother (Thomas Kelly) died, spoke publicly about his loss for the first time. "My name is Stuart Kelly, Thomas' younger brother – I’m 16 years old. I was only 14 when Thomas was killed in a violent unprovoked act that changed our family’s lives forever. I now no longer have an older brother; instead I have a hole in my life that somehow I am meant to come to terms with and accept. I asked my parents for permission to speak out and say something today as I want to tell all of our community how I feel, so that we can all understand the grief of such senseless acts of any kind of violence - that at all times are so avoidable. Up until now I haven’t said anything, as I was too young. I just tried to block it out. I’ve tried to understand over and over, why, at such a young age, my brother lost his life so tragically. But I have no answers. It’s been difficult for me. I’ve watched my family suffer on a daily basis, trying to somehow regain anything in their lives. I miss all the things that brothers do together – throwing a ball, laughing, joking, playing, being stupid at times – basically being boys and having fun. I loved Thomas dearly, as did my sister Madeleine; we have now both lost growing up with him and sharing our lives together as we grew older. I want Thomas’ short life to have some meaning in his death, so that we can see change. A new fresh start. One where I believe we should have “RESPECT” for one another, for our friends, our family, acquaintances, for different cultures and complete strangers. A culture where we accept “RESPONSIBILITY” for our actions and not one where we all too often lay the blame on our past as an excuse for what we do today. I want to see values in “RELATIONSHIPS” where having fun with friends on a night out means just that, existing without the need for excessive drinking. Where any violence, as a result of drinking, should never exist – where it is totally unacceptable in our society, so maybe eventually we can break this terrible cycle. I lost my brother to alcohol-fuelled violence. I can tell you first hand that to experience this kind of pain at such a young age is so enormous no one should ever have to be inflicted with such a devastating crime. It is my generation - and yours – ours collectively - to begin this conversation at home - across the dinner table, in our schools, our universities amongst peer groups, across sports codes – YOU too can be a messenger of change. I will miss Thomas deeply for the rest of my life - but somehow I just know that he will always be there by my side - just as he was for the first 14 years we had together. Thank you for listening. Stuart Kelly. Thanks to The Project (Channel 10) for allowing us to repost this video. www.thomaskellyyouthfoundation.com.au www.facebook.com/ThomasKellyYouthFoundation