Dave

Every Support Worker brings their own unique qualities to their work. It’s their ‘secret sauce’ but why keep something so valuable a secret? This year we’ve been asking Support Workers to share how they use their discoveries and experience to make a positive difference to our Members.

David worked in education for many years before moving into Support Work in 2021. He uses his previous educational know-how and coaching skills to enrich his work with Members now. Here he shares the ingredients for his own secret sauce.

Stay adaptable: Different settings call for different skills. I’ve been helping a Member who wanted to become more active. There are always lots of different ways to do things and a good response encourages you to think ‘ What else can I do to help turn things around for them?’
Build trust: Confidence creates freedom to explore different options and make recommendations in conjunction with carers. It encourages you to keep thinking: ‘How can we do something better?’
Good attitude always: I like to have a joke to break the ice and I try to lighten the mood. Even small surprises can make a huge difference. I have a Member who loves animals, and sometimes I might drop in with my dog Obi to mix it up. Obi loves it too.
Finding the right way to help: You don’t ever want to be overwhelming. It’s all about making sure people live the best life they can, and assisting them without intervening too much.
Working together: We need to remember that we’re just here to help: no-one expects a miracle. It’s often about making a positive impact in a small way

David being presented with the Heroes Award

Keen to learn more? We'd love to chat.

More stories from our Support Workers

Erin

Meet Erin, our Living My Way Support Worker of the Year! With over four years of dedication to our Members and community, Erin has brought compassion, and a true passion for connection to her role. Here, she shares her story working with our Member John* and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Fenella

The pandemic shifted Fenella to behind the wheel of a bus which was quite a change, but what followed was a new found purpose.

Luke

Support Worker, Luke, is in his late twenties. He began in the care industry volunteering even before he finished school. He went on to become an enrolled nurse, and has been applying many of these skills as a Support Worker ever since.

Empowering people to get on with life.

operations@lmwl.org.au
Phone (02) 8525 4000
Fax (02) 8525 4011

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Menai Head Office

Ground Floor, 44-60 Allison
Crescent, Menai NSW 2234

Seven Hills Office

Unit 10, 197 Prospect Hwy,
Seven Hills NSW 2147

Mailing Address

PO Box 67, Menai Central,
NSW 2234

ABN

47 110 995 518

Acknowledgement of Country

Living My Way acknowledges the Dharawal people who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. Living My Way pays respect to Elders past and present and extends this respect to other Aboriginal people visiting our website.

Areas We Serve

We primarily offer disability support services across Sydney – including Western Sydney, the Sutherland Shire and St George – Wollongong City Council regions, and Central West NSW

“Storytelling is how we invite our Member voices to shine and share something meaningful… We want to inspire, engage and educate our community through real stories.”

“We all pitch in to get things done. I would say, hand on heart, that the people we employ are truly Memberfocused and understand how their role can help Members meet their aspirations.”