Whether it's listening to someone in distress, helping a neighbour after a tragedy, or simply stopping to say hello, being a good Samaritan is about putting compassion into action. That's the message from Helping Hands panellists Jon Owen (CEO of Wayside Chapel), Raewyn Elsegood (chaplain and author), and Danny Abdallah (co-founder of i4Give).
For Jon, the phrase “Good Samaritan” has a deeper meaning beyond someone who simply lends a helping hand.
“It's about a story,” he explains, referencing the biblical parable where the Samaritan stops to help someone in need. “If being a good Samaritan means anything to me ... it's the person who can get off their high horse.”
For most Australians, Jon says, a good Samaritan is someone who sees a person in distress and takes time out of their day to respond, regardless of whether they know them.
“It's the ability to put aside your own agenda to attend to someone else's,” he says.
The Power of Compassionate Action
Raewyn begins with one key characteristic: compassion.
“When you can really empathise, you want to walk towards a person,” she explains. “But when you're sympathising, you might do the odd nod and go, ‘Oh, that poor person,’ and just keep walking past.”
Raewyn, a disaster recovery chaplain who responded to the Bondi shooting in December 2025, witnessed first-hand what compassion looks like in action. She explains how the local community looked out for each other in their grief, including helping a homeless woman who was too scared to return to her usual spot at the Pavilion.
“A local had noticed (her),” says Raewyn, “so he seconded one of us chaplains to go with him and try and convince her that her home was still safe ... I watched that beautiful work of art of the locals helping each other.”
Quiet Service Without Expectation
For Danny, being a good Samaritan means showing up quietly when things are tough.
“A good Samaritan is someone that comes quietly and helps and serves,” he says.
“Someone that isn't necessarily there in your good times. It's when you're in your tough times, you just see them come and help pick up the pieces ... without expecting anything in return.”
Having experienced tragedy himself, Danny saw the human spirit step up through people who would drop food, pick up the kids, and check in without making a fuss.
Now, as a prison chaplain, Danny brings that same quiet service to inmates. He listens to their stories, encourages them, and helps them see that their time in prison could transform them.
“I tell them, this place here could be a blessing or a curse in your life,” says Danny. “You can come out like gold or like ash. It's up to you.”
Simple Steps to Make a Difference
So, what does it take to be a good Samaritan? Jon's advice is simple: just take one step.
“No one is a problem to be solved. They're a person to be met,” he says. “Don't think about people as projects … One of my favourite quotes that guides me is, ‘I'm just one beggar helping another beggar find bread.’”
Jon encourages people to remember that we all have gifts and deficits, and that vulnerability is actually a gift we bring.
“Let me tell you, there ain't no answer that's going to hit the mark at all when you're in those moments, but your presence will,” says Jon.
Raewyn agrees that kindness is essential. “Our world needs people to open their eyes and not walk past when kindness is needed.”
Jon says we have communities that embody this spirit, when Australians rally together after tragedies like bushfires, floods, and terror attacks.
“We see the way people come together. People put aside differences, put aside divisions and just check in on each other,” he says.
His final piece of advice … “See someone, look them in the eyes and say hello.”
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