Kirstie FergusonShe/Her
Founder & Director
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Marie Murray Founder & Director
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MillyShe/Her
Engagement Coordinator, Peer Mentor & 'Trauma Aware Care' Trainer (Accredited in WRAP Facilitation)My name is Milly, I am Engagement Coordinator at The Wellness Initiative; I will help you engage with our service and link you in with our staff. I have a lived experience with trauma recovery and post traumatic growth. The things I am most passionate about are the wellness tools that I have used to manage my mental health for many years. I am deeply connected to creative expressions such as poetry, art, music and creative writing. I am also a lover of all things nature and spend most of my free time barefoot in the wilderness outdoors. I have worked in the Community Services industry for 12 years, engaged in services providing support for Mental Health, Disability Services, Housing and Homelessness, Safety and Assessment, Family Services, Peer Support and Recreation for Wellness. I specialise in Post Traumatic Growth and Trauma recovery, using WRAP as a tool to work with this journey is a brilliant foundation to build your healing space upon. I hope that your experience with me is one of empowerment and freedom and I look forward to meeting you.
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Kim
Recovery Coach & Group Facilitator
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RobynSenior Recovery Coach &
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Soraya Recovery Coach &
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WRAP Facilitator
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CarissaRecovery CoachShe/They
Available now.My name is Carissa and I have been a peer worker for four years now. Peer work helped me navigate my own journey, so to be able to work in this space is an honour. I enjoy walking alongside people, learning off peers around me and holding space to watch others become their own unique, authentic selves. My journey has been full of learnings and challenges, and I am proud to have overcome some of the hardest points of my life. I like to help people work towards self acceptance and to help people build on their strengths. I run my own peer support group as well where we model self acceptance and steer away from labels defying us. I am willing to work with anyone as I like meeting new people and continually upskilling as a human being.
Outside of the peer world I enjoy film photography, sport, camping and reading. I am intuitive, kind, compassionate and open minded. I hope I can help you along your journey as I know how important having someone walking with you on your journey is. I know from my experience having peers around me completely changed my life for the better. |
Peer Support Worker
At Capacity. My name is Elsa, and I am originally from South Africa. I have worked in Community Services for over ten years. I know what it feels like to be stuck, assuming everyone else has got it all together. My wellness journey excelled with peer support and 'trying softer' instead of harder. I discovered what was most important to me and then started setting goals which I achieved over time. Daily writing is my go-to wellness tool to process experiences, track progress, practice gratitude and celebrate joyful moments in life. I enjoy walking barefoot on the beach and grass, decluttering and decorating my home and finding interesting treasures at the op shop, mainly from the 1970s. I believe that your strengths, together with support from the Wellness Initiative, will get you on the way to living your best life, as determined by you.
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JasonHe/Him
Peer Support Worker &
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EllaPeer Support WorkerAt Capacity.I am 29 and have been working as a Peer Support Worker in the mental health space for five years. Last year I also started working as a peer and mentor for individuals with autism as I was diagnosed with ASD in 2018. I have designed and now run an Autism Awareness and Education Group for adults. Working in peer roles has been truly life changing and I wouldn't change it for anything. I have a cat and I adore him, he is very funny! I like swimming, reading, art and craft activities, and comedy podcasts. For my own wellbeing I try to focus on self-compassion, keeping routines and going for walks. I believe I can offer empathic and open minded support and the right attitude to walk alongside you on your recovery journey. I am trained in supported decision making and strengths based practices, and I am sensitive to issues for Aboriginal People, Multicultural People and LGBTQI people is also really important to me, as is social justice.
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SeanPeer Support WorkerAt Capacity.Hi, I am Sean and I have been working as a Peer Worker for ten years. I love the job. My own journey to reclaim health after being extremely unwell has been a long and most challenging undertaking. In facing my predicament I have discovered that recovery is best orchestrated by taking the ‘middle path’ of holistic health in nurturing the growth and blossoming of body, mind and spirit. I believe that despite the challenges we face, a fabulous life, full of meaning and purpose can be achieved. We have the opportunity to create the life of our dreams. This is what I attempt to bring to Peer Work. Outside of work I love playing a game of golf with friends. Nothing really beats sinking a six metre putt on a pristine spring morning. I also work out at the gym regularly and I am discovering that the fitter my body becomes the greater my mental health. I have travelled extensively in India and have a passion for Indian food. I love dining with friends with my favourite cuisine being delicious and healthy Indian vegetarian dishes.
Moreover in my recovery journey my foremost interest has been the pursuit of the spiritual life. This entails daily spiritual readings and an ever increasing prayer. This has sustained me like nothing else in my life journey. I believe that with effort and determination we can reach great heights. |
CarynPeer Support Worker At Capacity.Hey, I'm Caryn. I'm from Scotland and emigrated to Perth 12 yrs ago. I grew up in a family with many mental health challenges and went on to have my own. It's been a long road to being in recovery from addiction, trauma and the challenges that have come with that; but with support and guidance from other services and peers I finally started on my path to being well AND happy 6 years ago. For me recovery is life, it's how I live each day; some days are better than others but self- care, staying connected to people, having a routine and exercise all really help me. I love people! I love meeting people from all walks of life. I'm a positive person with a good dose of humour and a big heart who loves to support others to find their own happiness and true potential.
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ChantelleShe/Her
Peer Support WorkerAt Capacity.Hi, I’m Chantelle and I’m excited to get to know you and share in your journey. The idea of working towards mental wellness, as opposed to ‘fixing’ mental illness, was a huge turning point in my recovery. Reframing this allowed me to stop focusing on all the things ‘wrong with me’ and instead start to see opportunities for good in my life, creating wellness one small step at a time. I believe that everyone struggling with their mental health, low self-esteem or life in general deserves someone who believes in them, an opportunity to feel good about themselves and to feel hopeful about living their best lives. I am grateful to have had this in my own recovery journey and am passionate about helping others to experience this also.
Things that I enjoy in life include spending time outdoors, going for walks amongst the trees, camping trips, gardening, spending time with my family of pets (my cat, 2 pythons, 2 ducks and many fish) and cooking. I also love learning, trying new things and taking on challenges, all of which help me to help others in their journey to finding what's important to them, what they enjoy and overcome challenges. |
GavinPeer Support WorkerAt Capacity.Hi, my name is Gavin. Like so many people I meet, I have been going through my own recovery journey for many years. In 2016 I thought it was time for me to contribute my lived experience and ongoing journey with others by working in the field of mental well-being. I began working as a Recovery Partner with people exiting from hospital and other facilities to move into shared accommodation. I would assist and advocate with them, not only in regards to their short and long term goals, but also on what kind of life quality they wanted and how they wished to live their day to day lives. I am now excited to start my journey with The Wellness Initiative and too meet new people to walk alongside in their journeys. Once upon a time used to be a filmmaker and photographer, and before that I considered myself somewhat of a musician back in the early noughties. I continue to be passionate about these art forms, but strictly as a hobby these days. Looking forward to meeting you!
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JacintaPeer Support WorkerAt Capacity.Hi, my name is Jacinta! I started my career in the community services sector while completing a Bachelor of Environmental Science. I then worked for three years as an environmental scientist but became increasingly aware that corporate life wasn't for me and I longed to make an impact again in people's lives. My own recovery journey has been a long one of ups and downs but along the way I have learnt new skills, how to build a life of value and meaning and the importance of having a strong support network to stay well. I love animals, the environment and being out in nature, as well as creative pursuits. I consider myself an empathetic and open-minded person and I am passionate about sharing the knowledge I've gained to help reach your goals and joining you on your own journey to recovery.
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DrewPeer Support WorkerAt capacity.G’day, I’m Drew and I have a passion for recovery and discovery.
I started working in peer support 8 years ago and realised straight away the power of having someone who has a lived experience of recovery walking along side you. Through my own experience of living with mental health challenges as well as past struggles with addiction, I’ve learned first hand the importance of developing strategies and learning techniques to support and maintain mental health wellness, and whilst I see this as an ongoing and essential part of personal development, I also believe it’s important to foster a lust for life and for discovery. In my spare time I’m an avid foodie, coffee snob and a lover of nature, I enjoy going places I’ve never been and trying things I’ve never tried. I love music of all sorts from hip-hop to bluegrass and I’m often heard by my neighbours belting out a tune on my banjo-ukulele. I’m quite serious about dedicating time to researching and practicing various wellness techniques but I also believe in the power of just having a good laugh. Through my journey as a peer worker, I have supported many people to discover and grow their own personal strengths and I’m really excited to be able to now offer my experience and support through The Wellness Initiative. I look forward to meeting you all. |
NartashaPeer Support WorkerAvailable now.My name is Nartasha, I have been a Peer Worker for 2 years and have been in recovery for 6 years. I am passionate about Mental Health Recovery and being Trauma Informed. I have a lot of life experiences that provide me with the skills to be non judgemental, open minded and meet you where you are at. Nothing shocks me... My family is really important to me and I am a mother that adores music and exploring my spirituality. I have experience in navigating the Mental Health, DCP, Justice and AOD spaces and am happy to walk along side participants as they learn to navigate these spaces too.
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PatPeer Mentor / SupervisorPlease enquire about availability.I’m Pat, and I’m a Mental Health Lived Experience Peer Practitioner. I have eleven years of experience as a Peer Support Worker and Peer Worker Mentor specialising in mental wellness, providing individual support as well as facilitating and coordinating groups. I am an advocate for recovery based support and have had my own lengthy lived experience of mental health discomfort. I have learned many (non-clinical) strategies including having an active WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) that I employ on a daily basis to maintain good mental health, all of which have enabled me to consistently function well. I am passionate about helping people to realise their full potential and find fulfilment in everyday life and believe that we all have the innate ability to accomplish wellness and self sufficiency. This passion has progressed to providing mentoring and supervision for Peer workers to support and enable them to continue the growth of this vitally important specialist profession. I see my role as walking alongside Peer workers and Peers to help enable others to achieve recovery as a part of their personal wellness journey. My interests include Writing, audio editing, desk top publishing, multimedia and cartooning. I also enjoy cycling, Frisbee and roller skating. I am an ardent music fan and an animal lover.
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CarolOne-to-One WRAP Facilitator
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