Our Stories

Initially: Mario wanted to drive but had been told at the time of his injury that he could no longer do this. He didn’t know if he would have the skills and capacity to do the assessment. After a conversation with the Project Officer on goals to achieve, Mario went back to his Neurologist to ask if he could retake the Driving Assessment for Acquired Brain Injury.

After: Mario – Once he had passed the driving assessment, Mario undertook the Driver Knowledge Practice Test until he felt confident enough to go Online for the real thing. He has commenced Learner Driver Training enhancing his capabilities to get around independently in his personal life and open opportunities at work as a delivery driver. He has recently passed his Driver Knowledge Test and can now get out on the road!!!

Before iBOX: Previously Mario was cautious to try many things on his own and his shyness stopped him from taking part in the community without support.

After iBOX: Mario enjoyed keeping himself fit so much, his confidence grew and he requested to find a local gym he could join. Gateway Life was identified as having the equipment and support he would need. This helped with his confidence using public transport to and from the location, paying for membership and meeting with the team to speak about the facilities at the gym.

Before Power of Storytelling: Mario liked the sound of creating his own story using his personal experience although lacked the capacity, skills and knowledge to attempt this on his own.

After Power of Storytelling: Mario was intrigued to learn more about creating his own story and after making sure there was an option for support and the ability to complete the course at his own pace; purchase a course to complete.

Performing in Public – After his success in compiling the We Belong Song below, Mario gained the confidence to perform in public and in conjunction Wests Illawarra, a spot was made available for Mario to come and perform one of his previous songs he had put together at music therapy.

We Belong Song 

Rachel loves acting! Before We Belong launched, Rachel was an active member of her community drama group, but she felt a need to grow her confidence in public speaking.

Under We Belong, Rachel joined the Art of Conversation Workshop to develop her public speaking skills. After four weeks, Rachel felt even more confident, especially in acting on stage in front of a large audience or taking on bigger roles in her drama group.

Congratulations Rachel on achieving your goal with We Belong!

Before Toastmasters: Rachel loved being part of a local drama club, dressing up and performing on stage. After landing a big role, her confidence went down a bit speaking in front of an audience.

After Toastmasters:  Her chance to practice speaking in front of groups came up with the workshop and allowed the opportunity to rebuild her confidence and capacity speaking with people she had not previously known helping her with new members of her drama class and audiences in the community.

For many years, Shawn has struggled with self-confidence and felt that his voice wasn’t being heard. Wanting to change this, he asked his employer, Flagstaff Laundry if he could become a tour guide for visitors. This became a turning point, helping him build confidence, speak in public and connect with others. Today, Shawn proudly guides visitors through the laundry and inspires those around him.

Shawn continued growing by joining Flagstaff’s Resilience Crusaders program and the Co-Design Reference Group, ensuring people with disability have a voice in shaping programs and supports. He then took part in the We Belong Speechcraft Workshop, where he developed communication skills and found a strong sense of belonging in sharing stories.

As Shawn progressed, he decided to improve his reading and writing skills – We Belong found a local solution, Wollongong Library’s Read and Write for Life Program which offers one-on-one tailored tutoring. The weekly sessions have transformed Shawn’s confidence and ability to engage with others.

Shawn’s journey reflects the We Belong program’s commitment to breaking down barriers, fostering inclusion and empowering people with disability to share their voices. Through storytelling, workshops, co-designed resources and tailored support, We Belong creates safe pathways for people to connect, grow and participate fully in community life, building a more inclusive future, one story at a time.

Before Toastmasters: Shawn Carey is a friendly, helpful person with great personal skills. He had trouble with the reading and writing aspects of daily tasks which prevented him from taking on more responsibility both at work and in his personal life.

After Toastmasters: Shawn requested to find a one-on-one reading and writing tutor following the workshop after this highlight his need to improve his skills in this area. He currently attends a Read and Write for Life Program run by Wollongong Library. The tutoring commenced in September 2025 and goes for a session once a week over 52 weeks also helping Shawn with resilience and commitment to complete training.

Zac’s love of Golf seen him join the Kembla Grange Golf Club to improve his skills around the green.  He had a Kidney Transplant in 2018 and decided to enter the Transplant Games in 2024.  He won 3rd place in the Individual Competition and his experience participating in this event has allowed his talents and skills to be displayed on a national level boosting his confidence.  

Since then, Zac has even taken on the challenge to go and play Golf overseas. The confidence he has gained allowed him to navigate his way through unfamiliar places in a land where he did not know the language. 

We are so proud of your achievements Zac! 

Before Toastmasters: Beatrice had a great ability to speak to people and explain about her role and working at Flagstaff. She was uncertain how to structure her conversation and wasn’t overly confident how to go about this.

After Toastmasters: The chance to improve Public Speaking came up and was exactly what Beatrice was looking for. Not only have her public speaking skills improved, but she also even increased her confidence to share her passion in the community for advocacy of people of all abilities.

• Before: Mario Girasole loved to make his own music and wrote his own songs at music therapy each week. He felt uneasy sharing his talent with others unsure of the reaction he would get.
• After: Mario has a great background writing and composing in own songs and he showed interest in putting together a theme for We Belong. After supplied the key words to include, he wrote and performed the theme song for We Belong which he recorded in a studio.
• Before: Tel Fuller requires sign language to communicate with his supports and we thought he would be perfect to perform the signs to accompany the words of the song. He was excited when approached to be part of the project and eager to learn. He spent weeks practicing making sure he had everything down pat and improved his capacity to sign more words. This improved his confidence and he engaged with the whole team to create the video. He spent weeks practicing, making sure he had everything down pat and improved his capacity to sign more words.
• After: His confidence improved and he engaged with the whole team to create a video which was shared on the website, at the Christmas party and on our social media channels.