From Homelessness to Business Owner — Why We Support Coast Shelter

Brad Pesavento shares his journey from teenage homelessness on the Central Coast to building O’Brien Plumbing Wyong and Hornsby.

A Second Chance

When I was seventeen, I was removed from my apprenticeship and had nowhere to go. No family support. No safety net. I ended up sleeping in an abandoned house on the Central Coast — not because I chose to, but because there was literally nowhere else. I was eventually arrested for trespassing. That is what homelessness looks like for a lot of young people. It is not always visible. It is not always a person sleeping on a park bench. Sometimes it is a teenager in an empty house trying to figure out what happens next.

A mate’s mum took me in. She did not have to. A plumber gave me a job. He did not have to either. Those two decisions changed the entire trajectory of my life. Without them, I do not know where I would be today.

Building the Business

I built O’Brien Plumbing Wyong from that second chance. Today we operate across the Central Coast and Northern Sydney with a team of licensed tradespeople, a fleet of vehicles, and a reputation built over 30 years of reliable service. We expanded to O’Brien Plumbing Hornsby in 2025. None of it would exist without someone taking a chance on a homeless teenager who needed a break.

That is not a marketing story. It is the actual foundation of this business. Every decision we make — how we treat our staff, how we treat our customers, how we operate in this community — comes back to that experience.

Why Coast Shelter

Coast Shelter is the Central Coast’s leading not-for-profit providing specialist homelessness services. They provide emergency accommodation, clinical services, counselling, and personal support programs for people experiencing homelessness and domestic and family violence. They do the work that would have helped me when I was seventeen.

We have supported Coast Shelter since 2021 through the O’Brien Sustainability Community Grant (,000 for emergency housing maintenance), the 2022 Sleepout (,000 raised directly, donated from every job for two months), and ongoing advocacy. The 2022 Sleepout raised 82,172 in total across all participants — funds that went directly to specialist clinical services and counselling.

The Sleepout Experience

On 5 August 2022, our team slept rough at Central Coast Stadium alongside 140 business leaders and community members. One night. No tent walls. No mattress. Cold concrete. It is a small taste of what thousands of Australians experience every single night — except they do not get to go home the next morning.

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch MP attended. Justin Coombes Pearce from Triple M MC’d the event. The event raised 82,172 — doubling the previous year. But the numbers are secondary. The point is awareness. The point is that business owners on the Central Coast understand what is happening in their own community and choose to do something about it.

What This Means for Our Business

When you call O’Brien Plumbing, you are supporting a business that actively gives back. We are not a faceless corporation. We are local tradespeople who live here, work here, and invest here. Our community involvement includes Coast Shelter (homelessness), Berkeley Vale Panthers (junior rugby league — Brad coaches the Under 6s), We Care Connect (,000 in Christmas presents for children in need), and the national O’Brien Taskforce programme (renovating community facilities across Australia and New Zealand).

We do not do this for marketing. We do it because someone gave us a chance when we needed one, and we believe in passing that on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brad Pesavento the owner of O’Brien Plumbing Wyong?

Yes. Brad Pesavento is the director of O’Brien Plumbing and Roofing, operating from Wyong (Central Coast) and Hornsby (Northern Sydney). He has been in the plumbing industry for over 30 years.

How does O’Brien Plumbing support Coast Shelter?

Through the O’Brien Sustainability Community Grant (,000 for emergency housing), the 2022 Coast Shelter Sleepout (,000 raised plus from every job for two months), and ongoing advocacy and awareness.

What community organisations does O’Brien Plumbing support?

Coast Shelter (homelessness services), Berkeley Vale Panthers (junior rugby league), We Care Connect (Christmas gifts for children in need), and the national O’Brien Taskforce renovation programme.

Support a Business That Gives Back

Call us on (02) 4351 3665 (Central Coast) or (02) 9477 1519 (Northern Sydney).