For Rebecca, doing what she loves means so much more than just going for anything in life.
“I’m building up what I want to do, not what I can do,” she says. Right now, she is focused on her family.
She has four children. She is a sole parent and a carer. She cares for both her youngest children- her seven-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son. Her daughter has autism and a developmental coordination disorder. Her son has developmental disorder too, and they both have NDIS plans.
Her days starts at 5 am and can go up until midnight managing her children’s special needs. In between those hours, she also manages emotions, emails, medical appointments, dietary requirements and all the housework.
“I have to advocate for my children a lot. I don’t have anybody in the family to support me and doing public system is quite a battle.”
“If you don’t have the finances, you don’t get the support. This takes 90% of my time and my energy.”
“Everything is done via email these days and there is just no downtime. It’s a constant juggling of time and everything that goes with it.”
Rebecca knows exactly what her power is. She takes one step at a time.
She has worked in the past and plans to get back to work one day. However, as much as she would like to be in a job that will provide her with happiness, she knows there will be time for that.
“I’d like to do a job that will help me find joy so I can go home and smile.”
“Life is about living. I’m happy to live but not living in things that I don’t want.”
Her first step took her to Your Caring Way, and things started to change for her and her family. She learned about the program through Carers South Australia.
“I’ve done a few other programs with them to try and get my education back up so I can do a few things that I want to do.”
“Your Caring Way has been amazing. The vocational coaching has been fantastic. “
“It just helped my confidence. It gave me an adult to communicate with; it helped with things that I couldn’t do like searching for information that was required.”
“My vocational coach was amazing, knowledgeable. I just clicked with her. I didn’t feel judged or pushed. I felt supported.
“It wasn’t about pushing me to a job or a career, but she kept me goal oriented, which gave me a feeling of completion.”
With Your Caring Ways’ support, Rebecca started volunteering at Campbell City Council in South Australia in November last year.
“The day I was supposed to start, my son got sick. This things happen all the time, you know.”
“I drive clients to shopping, support them with day to day activities and appointments. I’ll be also doing hosting, involving walks, coffee and chats with them and other outings.”
“I do one day a week, four or five hours only, because of my kids and I love it.”
Rebecca would like to do more, or have a paid job but at the moment she can’t afford to do so.
“I have to be realistic. If I get a job, I couldn’t fulfil that position knowing that my kids need me and I’ll be called up or will have to leave. So I really wanted to be slow and steady on how much I wanted to take on.”
Rebecca’s next step is getting back into the community.
“Through volunteering I want to meet new people. At the moment where I’m at in my life, I want to broaden my horizons and just get outside of my own environment.”
“You don’t get to do that when go to the shops and then to therapy. Literally it’s about making the time to do that. And I’ve decided to make it.”
“My end proposal is definitely to have a part time job when it’s realistic, when the kids are settled and when I know that I comfortably can do it. I think it can take time, maybe at the end of 2021. “
“The good thing about Your Caring Way is one, there is no pressure. Two, they stay with you for even two years after you finish caring so it’s not like it’s a short time thing and I’ve got to worry about that.
“Your Caring Way gives me the opportunity to take my time and make sure I find the position that is going to support myself and the family, and I am grateful for that.”
