Lisa Gage, Senior Financial Counsellor, Northern Rivers Financial Counselling Service
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Why did you become a financial counsellor?
I started financial counseling in 2012 and I’d just come out of nearly 15 years of working in finance and I also studied counselling. The two came together beautifully in financial counselling.
I got into disaster counselling in 2022 when the region had come through the 2022 floods. There’s so much trauma and so much hardship and so many difficulties, it’s difficult for people to really know where to go, and so we have a specialty and we’re privileged to be able to provide that support for people and actually make a difference for the community when it’s going through such a difficult time.
What’s the most rewarding part of your work?
It’s a real privilege to be able to sit in this role and to be able to work alongside people, helping them move from those real depths of hardship to really helping them, walk beside them and getting them out of those places and into a place where they can actually live and breathe and start moving forward with their life.
Can you share a specific moment for a client that reminded you why this work really matters?
The main one that comes to mind was a woman and her son who was disabled and they were homeless, they were living in a tent, and it was just heartbreaking to see that. We were able to waive all of this accumulated debt that they had, supported them in their mental health as well, giving them a lot of referrals for their mental health. And then eventually they found a home, and they got back on their feet. It was probably one of the highlights of my life to be able to support her through that.
What kinds of issues are you most commonly helping people with right now?
The flood has been a big part of the hardship for so many people, and we are still helping people today four years on. On top of that, we’ve got a lot of small business tax debt that has been quite significant. We’re regularly working with single mums with dependent children who are coming out of a domestic violence situation and providing them with support.
Is anything you would like to add?
I just love it. I love the sector. I love what we do. I love the people that I work with. Yeah, just the passion I think is a big part of the difference that we can really make in people’s lives.