Stories from the WISE community: Izzy
My name is Izzy! I am a 25, culturally and linguistically diverse, lesbian identifying, woman who grew up and currently lives in Western Sydney. I speak Spanish and English and enjoy creative design and digital media. I live with my fiancé, our three cats, and we are expecting our first child in April 2023!
Prior to WISE Employment, I’ve had a long history of working within the volunteer not-for-profit charity sector. My work has seen me rise to the role of Secretary of Wear It Purple, as well as other experiences with NSW Police Force and local LGBTQIA+ centric organisations.
I’ve worked for WISE Employment since March 2021, which is only a few weeks after the Rainbow WISE program launched in Inner Sydney. I’ve had the privilege to have been such a pivotal and meaningful part of Rainbow WISE’s growth. Every day, I have the pleasure of working with LGBTQIA+ identifying clients within DES who are either searching for work or require support during their In Work Support phase.
I am an Autistic and ADHD person (AuDHD) and only received my diagnosis and treatment support a few weeks after commencing my role with WISE Employment. Quite often, society and the spaces around me assume that this is not who I am and that it is just a small part of my life. This is incorrect. AuDHD affects 100% of my life. This erasure of identity and daily struggles is the largest hurdle I face.
The largest impact I experience is the lack of acknowledgement of my brain operating in a different (not less) way than other people around me. Masking is something I do every single day. This is to appear as not being different and to seek acceptance by others in society. The impact of this is that, for 23 years before my diagnosis, I struggled to learn who I truly was and what my own personality looked like. And to this day, knowing when it is safe for me to ‘unmask’ is hard to determine. I feel tired most days due to this.
Autistic and ADHD people are eight times more likely to be LGBTQIA+ identifying. This means that I can relate to the majority of my Rainbow WISE caseload in every appointment. When I encounter an AuDHD client, the first thing I tell them is that as I am also an AuDHD person as well as an LGBTQIA+ person, the only difference between us is that I’ve been given an opportunity and my job is to now help them find theirs.
My favourite thing about my job is that upon receiving my diagnosis, I was able to learn from my clients and find common ground within their experiences. I was able to relate to them more than they were able to relate to me for a while and it really helped me feel less lonely and it normalised my journey towards self-love and self-awareness.
The advice I would give is ‘you are different, not less’. There is a space for you in this world, in this society and in the workplace that you desire to exist in. You are not broken, you are not damaged, you are under-appreciated, and I am sorry that this world wasn’t designed for people like us.
All photos supplied by Izzy.