I am an experienced Social Worker, Counsellor, Lived Experience Advocate and Spoken Word poet, with a demonstrated history of paid and voluntary experience in the mental health and community sector since 2015. Spaces I have worked in include mainstream and flexi schools, Child Protection, the lived experience sector at a regional VIC hospital and the research space. Within my practice, I use lived experience intentionally and safely to support the people I work with, I use recovery-oriented language, I implement trauma-informed care, I cultivate safe spaces to connect, and I operate from a strengths-based and person-centered approach. My passions include advocating for and influencing system reform with first responders to mental health, ensuring that my practice is delivered equitably, and instilling hope into everyday. When working with me, I will meet you where you are at on any given day and ensure that we always walk alongside each other as we navigate your journey together. Some key experiences​/​achievements I've been involved in so far include: - Being a consumer member of the Neami VIC Locals Evaluation Project Governance Board - Being involved in providing feedback for an Orygen project regarding suicide prevention and young people in suicide prevention in 2024 - Being an Orygen Youth Advisory Group member for Suicide Prevention in 2023 and 2024 - Being involved in the Yale School of Medicine, Yale University Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy: LET(S)Lead from February 2023-November 2023 with 14 other participants - Having my story shared on Dan Andrew's Facebook page in 2021 as part of the Royal Commission to Victoria's Mental Health System (RCVMHS) - Being personally invited to the final event of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (RCVMHS) held on March 2nd, 2021 - Reading my poem at the briefing event of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (RCVMHS) held on February 4th, 2021 For the video link that I've shared, please head to 15:45 to hear and see me sharing my Poem.

Why the Spoony community matters to me

There are endless reasons why the Spoony community matters, especially because of the safety this space provides and the genuine connections that it enables to grow, with others and with self. As a neurodivergent person and a person who has worked in the mental health field for many years, Spoony is a safe haven that I hope can allow many people who come across it to feel at home and have the ability to feel like they can be their authentic selves.

Qualifications

Graduate Certificate in Writing and Literature at Deakin Uni (almost completed) Bachelor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Yale University Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy: LET(S)Lead Course in Identifying and Responding to Family Violence Risk at Chisholm Institute Course in Gender Equity at Chisholm Institute Diploma of Counseling at Estrada College Cert IV in Justice at Holmesglen Institute