Before Lisa connected with WISE Women, life had asked a great deal of her. For a long stretch, she was a full-time carer for her mum, right up until her mum passed away. It was a demanding, deeply personal role, and when it ended, Lisa was left grieving and unsure of what came next.
That kind of loss can leave anyone feeling isolated. For Lisa, it did. She found herself pulling inward, struggling with low confidence and her mental health. Everyday things like communicating and interacting with others became genuinely hard.
“My mind was everywhere, to be honest,” Lisa recalls of that period. “It was just trying to focus.”
Lisa first learnt of the WISE Women program through conversations with her WISE Consultants.
“When they were talking about it, I said, yes, okay. Let’s try that,” she says.
Reaching out took courage. At that stage, Lisa was carrying a lot, and taking any step forward felt significant.
When Lisa began with WISE Women, she was honest about what she hoped to achieve. Her goals were personal and clear:
- Build her confidence in herself
- Learn to think more positively
- Get back on her feet and find work
- Feel more comfortable interacting with others
“Positive thinking was just not happening,” she admits. “I kind of went in on myself. It was hard communicating and stuff like that.”
Her sister Kylie attended appointments as her nominee, often speaking on Lisa’s behalf. In those early days, Lisa found it difficult to say much at all.
Change didn’t happen overnight, and Lisa is the first to say so. One thing made a real difference: having a consistent Consultant she could trust.
In previous employment services, frequent changes in workers had knocked Lisa’s confidence and set off her anxiety. So, when she finally settled with a steady worker, Natalia, things began to shift.
“I can push myself, but sometimes it doesn’t work,” Lisa explains. “I just needed that extra bit more of a Natalia push.”
That steady, trusted relationship gave Lisa the encouragement she needed to start showing up for herself. Slowly, she began attending appointments on her own and finding her own voice.
The five-day Boost Program marked a real breakthrough for Lisa. It gently pushed her to do the very thing she’d feared most, connecting and interacting with others.
“That was a good point for me,” she says. “It especially helped with engaging with people and interacting, which was one of my biggest fears, because I didn’t have the confidence and the self-esteem.”
Lisa didn’t just complete the program. She made friends along the way. The group was a standout, and even the facilitators noticed how well everyone came together. For someone who once struggled to speak up, committing to something like this was a huge win.
Then came the big one. Lisa found work.
“I finally found some work,” she says, and you can hear the pride in it.
She feels excited, a little nervous, but ready. “It’s a new challenge. I’m looking forward to it. Definitely.”
The changes go well beyond the job itself. Lisa now carries more confidence, more energy, and a real sense of showing up for herself each day.
Her family and friends have noticed, too. “They’re quite happy,” she says. As Natalia says “in six short months, Lisa has truly blossomed. She’s talking, showing up, and standing on her own feet, and the people around her couldn’t be prouder.”
For anyone facing a similar season of life, Lisa offers this:
“If you’ve been in the same predicament that I’m in, you’ve just gotta give it a go, push through. Have someone that you know is gonna push you more than what you’re gonna push yourself. Because that’ll help.”
Lisa’s story is a reminder that progress often starts small, and that the right support at the right time can help you find your way forward. With steady encouragement, a bit of courage, and someone in your corner, real change is possible.
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