How my journey began

My helping career goes back to 1999 where I developed a deep need to feel more fulfilled in my career. It wasn’t enough to be a great salesperson or dazzle people with my marketing skills - I needed more. So, I found myself thinking about - how can I make a difference in people’s lives?

My next step had to be something, that felt more in line with my core values and spiritual beliefs. This led me on a trajectory of becoming a life-long learner, which began with studying a Bachelor in Social Science, then changing to Social work and then going on to complete a Masters in Social Science majoring in Public Health. I went on to trying Law and then Human Rights. After a long 9 years of study I decided to bare down and really hone in to Social Work in Mental Health. Although by then, I had experience in ‘In-patient Unit Discharge Planning’ in the field of Medical, Mental Health & Trauma - I needed more time with my clients, not just when they were in crisis - that then launched me into Community Mental Health work.

From there I developed a love of Recovery Coaching & Case Management, crisis work, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and ended with stints in Team Leadership.  I remained in health for 17 years and really developed my skills and an ability to provide bespoke (evidenced based) strategies that aided in breaking down the social barriers for my clients.

I developed a Quality Project in 2010 - named iHOUSE -Improving Housing Outcomes, Universally, Systematically and Effectively. This model targeted those at risk of losing housing and those that required bespoke strategies to obtain or maintain affordable housing options. It was from this idea and concept that largely assisted with the development of i.help.u.

The concept of i.help.u. stems from being a Recovey Coach its a strengths based and person-centered approach. I help you to help yourself. The participant has the lived experience - my role is to extract and highlight strengths and possibilities, whilst assisting with breaking down social barriers for our participants.

“i.help.u comes with direct experience in supporting clients with a variety of disabilities’ who have told their story to the Disability Royal Commission set up in 2019. At ‘Your Story Disability Legal Support’ a free independent national service - I largely supported clients across Australia who wanted to tell their story of; violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. I provided a safe environment for people to tell their story. I helped to reduce barriers and link people with a disability, to the right support services, so that they could successfully tell their story to the Disability Royal Commission.

At i.help.u I firmly believe that if I can show my participants through one-to-one interviews that they feel like they are my only client - my work purpose has been properly fulfilled.