Elise's Story: a Carer Gateway journey
Like hundreds of thousands of carers across
Victoria Elise Davis hesitated before contacting
Carer Gateway for suppport, unsure if she was in
fact a carer at all.
But just twelve months after, Elise wished she had
reached out for help years ago.
Elise was introduced to Carer Gateway by Different
Journeys, a peer-support program that works to
empower people with autism and their carers.
Her son Tarrin “is high-functioning and is at a
mainstream school and I wasn't sure whether his
disability was serious enough for us to be
considered carers and thought that other people
needed the support more.”
She placed contacting Carer Gateway on her to-do list, but it was the last thing at the end of exhausting days spent working and caring. She visited the website after work late at night. “Initially I thought Carer Gateway was just a website that I had to navigate and apply for services.”
But COVID and other stresses finally saw Elise call the Carer Gateway toll-free number. She describes what happened next as “a beautiful, gentle process that's really supportive”. The Carer Gateway caseworker “connected me with a range of local services in our area that helped me to look after my physical and mental health.”
Elise has utilised counselling and respite, and now has connected with a “non-judgemental support network” of other parents and carers. “The issues carers face are very different to the issues that other parents face. If I'm hanging out with other carers I can just really be myself and talk about what is really happening in our life.”
“Before Carer Gateway we never realised that the children were young carers and also needed support,” she says.
Elise has a message for other carers, especially those
who are not certain that they are carers or think they
can just manage on their own.
“Call Carer Gateway and speak to someone.
I’ve realised that the only way you can do your
caring role well is if you take care of yourself,
whether that’s taking time away for a walk
or relaxation. It is really important.”
“You've got nothing to lose. Once you make the call,
it's still all in your hands. You may not be ready to do
counselling or whatever, but you then have someone
you can go back to and say you know what? Now I'm ready."
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"a beautiful, gentle process that's really supportive"