Lizzie is the Customer Service Coordinator at CPSN, where she leads a fantastic team dedicated to providing exceptional support for clients. Lizzie first connected with CPSN in August 2021 as a volunteer in the ‘Tribal Wisdom’ program. where she used her lived experience of cerebral palsy to offer valuable insights. Lizzie shares openly about her struggles with CP growing up and how it now feels healing to put her personal experience to support people every day who can benefit from her perspective and experience. She wants people to know people living with CP can have really good lives, to pursue the things they’re passionate about and have wonderful friends, family and colleagues the same way others do.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I’m the Customer service coordinator,. I lead the customer service team, who are all fantastic, I love working with them! My role is really varied, which is one of the things I love about CPSN. On any given day,it might involve lots of customer service and also chatting with and providing support for clients, families and support workers. I provide support and advice around other things that our community members and clients might be going through in their lives and direct them to various services. The other part of my role at the moment is attending lots of meetings around our organisational strategy and lots of new things we’re doing this year!
What motivates you in the work you do?
It gives me a sense of purpose, it’s a productive and beneficial outlet for my lived experience with CP. I struggled a lot with my CP growing up, I didn’t feel much like I fit in and struggled to come to terms with it. Now I’m able to talk to people every day who I hope can benefit from my perspective and experience, and it feels healing to put that experience to good use. Its nice to be able to share that yes, some things can be a struggle but things will be okay.
We have really good lives living with CP and get to pursue the things we’re passionate about and have wonderful friends, family and colleagues the same way others do!
Are there any common misconceptions about CP you'd like to address?
I think people assume that we don’t have a great quality of life because it can be harder for us to move around and be involved, but I’d like people to understand that with a supportive community around you that is very much not the case, there are lots of amazing people with CP who are making a big difference in a whole range of fields.
I also have a big problem with the term ‘special needs’- everybody has needs, disabled or not, and everyone needs them met differently, so I’d really like to see this term disappear from our vocabulary, though its unfortunately quite pervasive!
Making more accessible modifications is so important because it allows for all sorts of access and inclusion within the community and that is so important so that all kinds of people can participate and see improved mental health outcomes.
Outside of work, what keeps you busy? What are you interested in?
I'm in a semi-professional church choir,I love to sing! Choral music has been a big part of my life since my early childhood. I’ve been a member of my current choir for many years. We sing weekly at Sunday Mass, and at other special occasions throughout the year. Several times during the year we sing with orchestra and professional soloists, which is a really special experience. When I’m not singing, I love reading, as well as cooking and baking. I’m a country girl at heart; I grew up on a farm just outside of Hamilton in Victoria’s Western District, and I love getting back to spend time with my family when I can.
How would you describe working at CPSN to a friend?
It's a privilege to be able to connect, particularly with the community impacted by CP and other disabilities. The people who work at CPSN really make it what it is, and it's just great to come to work every day with people you get along really well with and who all have a have a really strong shared sense of purpose. Everyone brings something different to the table to make CPSN what it is- a driven organisation where our clients are really at the centre of everything we do.
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