As parents everywhere will know, family comes first. Looking after yourself often takes second place as a parent, and that’s where our Mentors and Employment Experts come in.
Our ParentsNext caseload has the opportunity to support parents from all walks of life. Our Support Mentors support the parents in our program by providing them with an inclusive environment to engage in work or further education, and support their long-term goals as their family grows.
Many in our ParentsNext program have been out of the workforce for some time, including Asuria Support Mentor Sophie, who was once a ParentsNext participant herself at our Marion site in Adelaide South. Being a mum is top priority for Sophie, so she knows what it means to make sacrifices for her family.
When Sophie joined our ParentsNext program, her self-esteem was at an all-time low, and she had a limited view of possible job opportunities. She worked closely with her Support Mentor, Georgina, who supported her in exploring work and study options that might interest her. As Sophie’s youngest child got older, and with Georgina’s encouragement, Sophie returned to study a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, and to her delight, her confidence and self-worth began to grow.
To help Sophie through her studies, Asuria was able to support Sophie financially by covering the cost of her Working with Children’s Check, as well as a laptop, so that she could undertake her units of study. Sophie felt inspired by Asuria’s support and the compassionate nature of her Mentors, seeing their impact on her. This led Sophie to discover that her calling was to assist other parents in finding their feet again.
When a Support Mentor vacancy came up at Asuria’s Mount Baker office, Sophie jumped on the opportunity to make her dreams a reality and applied for the position. To no surprise, Sophie landed the job and joined the Asuria Mount Baker team!
Now, Sophie is thriving in a career she’s passionate about as she pays her experience forward to other parents needing support.
“I’m really pleased to be a part of a program that helped me overcome my barriers and helped me to achieve my goals. My Support Mentor was so kind and inspiring. Becoming a Support Mentor with Asuria has allowed me to greatly improve my skills and be inspired by the people I work with and the people I help within the program.
ParentsNext is such a valuable program, and I feel fortunate to have been a participant and now working with a provider,” said Sophie.
We couldn’t be happier to have Sophie as part of the team! To learn more about the ParentsNext program, and how Asuria prepares pathways for parents to reach their goals, click here.