How Muriel rebuilt her confidence and found a career in care

For Muriel, finding work again wasn't just about getting a job. It was about finding herself.

After a car accident, Muriel lost the retail management role she had dedicated years to and spent more than five years searching for stable employment. Today, she's thriving as an NDIS support worker.

"My anxiety has dropped. Everything changed," Muriel said. “I'm more open now, more chatty now. I'm just my old self again.”

Caring for others has long been a part of who Muriel is.

Her desire to help people grew from her own life experiences. As a mum, she learned everything she could to support one daughter with autism and another with ADD. She also found herself supporting her parents through significant health challenges, including her father's cancer diagnosis and vision loss.

"I've got a very big heart and I've got a passion for everybody," she said. "I'm a big teddy bear."

Wanting to turn that compassion into a career, Muriel connected with Faith through Workforce Australia at IMPACT Community Services.

Faith remembers meeting someone who was determined not to be defined by her circumstances.

"When I worked with her, she was like, 'I don't want to be treated any differently. I can do everything I need to do,'" Faith said.

Muriel enrolled in a Certificate II in Health Support before progressing to a Certificate III, throwing herself into her studies and refusing to give up when things became challenging.

One moment in particular stands out in Faith's memory.

"She came running in after her course telling me how she was ahead of everybody else," Faith said.

"She'd never been ahead of anything ever, even before her accident. And I think that's when I realised this girl really had it. And I think that's when she realised that she really had it."

As Muriel worked towards her qualifications and applied for jobs, Faith became one of her biggest supporters, helping with resumes, interviews and encouragement when she needed it most. Muriel said Faith always seemed to know when she was having a tough day and would reach out with the support she needed to keep moving forward.

That support made celebrating the good moments even sweeter.

After years of searching for work, Muriel finally received the call she had been waiting for.

"I was doing a happy dance," she said. "When they told me I was jumping up and down. I was screaming, 'I got the job'."

"It was the best feeling in the world. It was like Christmas and everything in one."

Faith was one of the first people she told.

For Faith, seeing Muriel succeed has been incredibly rewarding.

"The growth in her is beyond amazing," she said. "She's one of my favourite people, and I get so excited to see her reach where she needs to reach."

Today, Muriel loves being there for people who need support.

"It's always good to have that extra person to lean on," she said. "And we are them."

While she's proud of how far she's come, she's already looking ahead to the future.

"There are people that need me," she said. "My goal is to keep trained to help more people in different situations."