Volunteer Profile – Liz’s Story

“I just love coming here because I feel like little miracles happen every day.”

Liz Wheeler volunteers two days a week as a counsellor at the ADRA Community Centre Blacktown with her guide dog, Poppi, by her side. Run predominantly by volunteers, the centre offers services ranging from food parcels to social work but is best-known for its free, high-quality counselling.

“Losing my vision over time and acquiring a disability led me to really appreciate what it’s like to suffer and what it’s like to heal,” says Liz. “I had a career before this, but I had to stop working because I’d lost a lot of functionality.”

Facing such a life-altering change, Liz had to decide which future path to take.

“I was so lost and I called out to God and I said, ‘God, what do you want me to do?’ And I felt called into counselling so that I could support others.”

In her time at ADRA, Liz has seen a broad range of clients who are looking to improve their lives but don’t have the means to afford the mental health care required to address complex issues. The ADRA Community Centre Blacktown is helping to meet a growing need for counselling services.

“Psychological services in Australia are incredibly expensive, and the length of support you need for trauma and other really serious issues, just can’t be provided through those means,” Liz says. “We have quite a wait list of people who really want to receive counselling services.”

Liz shared the journey she has gone on with of one of her clients, Abigail*, and the incredible growth she has experienced thanks to her regular counselling sessions. Abused as a child and homeless from the age of 13, Abigail did whatever it took to survive. She fell into drugs and had two children of her own before losing them to the foster care system.

“She came to ADRA and she was wanting to change,” Liz says. “I was able to be part of that, part of supporting her through her year of sobriety, and then keeping off drugs, and then supporting her as she worked on her anger, and then even being able to be there in real time, critical moments that could have gone so badly.”

Liz attributes much of Abigail’s success to the continuity of care that the ADRA Community Centre Blacktown was able to provide.

“Abigail knew this is a place she could come to, this is a place that cares, and that I could be with her and walk with her on her journey,” Liz says. “And just to see how much she’s starting to shine and shift; it makes me feel really grateful that I’m able to be here.”

Centre Manager, Grace Copoceanu, has been serving at the ADRA Community Centre Blacktown for over a decade.

“It is such a privilege, because not many counselling services out there are able, or know, to invite the Holy Spirit in their work, and that is one of the beautiful things about ADRA,” says Grace. “We have a variety of clients coming in with a wide range of needs and challenges, but the beautiful part is watching the volunteers just come alive and know exactly how to meet those needs and how to serve these clients. It’s hard not to be proud of this place.”

While her approach to each client differs, Liz says that her goal is the same: to help her clients see their worth.

“For me, the greatest gift I want to give to my clients is helping them to see their worth.

“I wanted to serve people who desperately needed the support and just couldn’t afford it. Every day someone walks in and something just extraordinary shifts or changes. You can feel tired at the end of the day, but it feels worth it.”

While volunteers like Liz help the daily running of the centre, it is not free from costs like rent, food support, and other service providers. The centre survives on the generous donations of ADRA supporters.

“I wanted to thank everyone who is supporting ADRA Community Centre Blacktown,” says Liz. “You’re making a difference. Thank you for making it possible for my clients to just experience better lives and be supported. Thank you.”

To support the ADRA Community Centre Blacktown, visit adra.org.au/blacktown