Westfield Bondi Junction tragedy: Jade Yong’s mother reveals how her grandchildren are coping with the tragedy as she calls for change

The grieving mother of one of the innocent bystanders killed in the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing says Australia needs a “complete cultural change” as she opened up about how love and Lego are helping her granddaughters cope with the tragedy.

Mother-of-two and architect Jade Young, 47, was at the shopping center in Sydney’s east with her youngest daughter when Joel Cauchi stabbed her and five others to death on April 13.

Elizabeth Young revealed in an emotional interview with The Project on Tuesday evening that her granddaughters, aged nine and 14, are coping with their grief by talking and following the “five L’s in life.”

“The love from family and friends, the licks from Teddy the puppy, the lasagna Andrew and others made for us, lollipops and Lego,” she said.

Jade Young, 47, had two daughters, a nine-year-old and a 14-year-old. Their grandmother said they are coping with the tragedy by following the “five L’s in life,” including love and Lego

Mrs Young fought back tears as she recalled the moment she found out her “very gentle” daughter had died while she was in the shops with one of her daughters to buy a birthday present.

“I heard from another room my husband yelling something,” she said.

“And he came to the door and said, ‘Jade’s dead.’ And life changed.”

While the discussion about Cauchi seemed to focus on women, the mother had a message for all Australians.

‘A complete culture change is needed. Men need to recognize that muscles and aggression are no longer necessary,” Young said.

‘Men have to look at themselves. Mothers have to raise their sons in a different way. Fathers must actually raise and educate their sons with respect for women.”

When asked what she would like to say to the politicians, the heartbroken mother did not mince her words and said they needed to ‘seriously improve the mental health situation’.

‘They have to take action. We need more mental health practitioners. We need facilities to care for people in trouble,” she said.

‘They should, in my opinion, and this is from a very distressed woman, be governed much more strictly than they are now.

Jade Young’s memorial service was held at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney on April 23.

“No one exhibiting these types of symptoms should convince a doctor to reduce their medication.”

Mrs Young admitted she still didn’t believe her beloved Jade was gone.

“I have moments where I’m just doing something mechanical, hanging the dishes or doing the dishes, and then I forget about it,” she said.

‘Then there is a wave [which] sweeps over me and I have an image of her lying in the viewing room of the coroner’s court, and that is an image that will stay with me for the rest of my life.’

The grieving grandmother also showed off her new and first-ever tattoo that reads “beautiful Jade.”

“She’s always with me,” she said.