Positive Directions to expand
"For me, it will be a passion come true, so I can spend all the time I want on it..."
Support group Positive Directions is set to widen its operations, after news that Lenny Gross, proprietor of the iconic Lenny’s Deli in Caulfield North, who helped found the organisation, has sold the business where it is based.
The Inkerman Road store has had a close association with Positive Directions since it was formed in 2014, after Gross, a professional mentor and life coach, played a role in the early development of Access Inc.
All in all, he has spent the past three decades helping people with social issues.
Lenny’s has been a community attraction for 28 years, and with its sale to the Fine family, Gross told The AJN that half the space would be available for Positive Directions, supplementing the two properties next to the deli which are already being used by the support group.
“There will be a new, more focused direction that Positive Directions is going to take. The upgrade will allow a lot more people to use our services … more space, more services, more staff, more providers,” he said.
Gross will now run the special-needs group full-time with the assistance of Sam Gross, his daughter, a personal trainer, health and nutrition coach and counsellor. Father and daughter run Flex Counselling, which takes a holistic health approach, combining counselling and physical exercise.
He said Positive Directions might also start looking at further locations for its activities. “There’s been plenty of demand but I just haven’t been able to facilitate it because I’ve been too busy with Lenny’s.
“Now we’re opening up with a lot of other organisations and a lot of other providers, as opposed to part-time volunteering,” said Gross, who will continue to volunteer with Positive Directions. “For me, it will be a passion come true, so I can spend all the time I want on it.”
Gross said the COVID pandemic has exacerbated the special needs of clients who are with Positive Directions, and more cases are being dealt with by the organisation.
Recognised with multiple community awards, Gross became Glen Eira Citizen of the Year in 2009. His background in special needs and mental health has enabled him to understand the implications of disability, anxiety, depression and the difficulties they bring.
Asked what drives him to volunteer in this field, Gross said, “I feel people’s pain and I try to help out.”
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