Champions of the West: Selfless mum gives up work as nurse to help child sex abuse victims
WERRINGTON mum Michelle Ellery gave up her job as a nurse three years ago to run the Queen of Hearts Community Foundation to help child sexual abuse victims.
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MICHELLE Ellery hopes to one day be out of work. The Werrington mum gave up her job as a nurse three years ago to run the Queen of Hearts Community Foundation to help child sexual abuse victims.
She has already helped hundreds of families who come to her at the Penrith drop-in centre. The waiting time to see a counsellor, from the time a child comes forward with the tragic news they have been abused, is four weeks. And Ms Ellery knows this is due to the fact there are so many victims in the community waiting for help.
“I would give anything to be out of work in this area,” she said. “But unfortunately, it’s the opposite, there are so many young and innocent victims out there and I’ll do anything to help them navigate their way through the police process, the courts and get proper counselling.”
Ms Ellery is nominated in the community category of The Telegraph and NewsLocal’s Champions of the West awards, a grants competition for the Fair Go for the West campaign that consists of 14 categories, each offering a $10,000 grant.
Following her own family’s personal experience with child sexual abuse, Ms Ellery gave up her career as a nurse in order to help other young victims. She said the process when a child comes forward is like a confusing maze, which she believes she can help them navigate.
Her drop in centre in the old council chambers on Henry St is designed to be a safe and comfortable place for victims and their families to come for help, advice, referrals or even just a cup of tea and a chat. If she wins the $10,000 grant, she hopes to cut waiting times in half and extend the hours she can have a paid specialised social worker on site. “It’s terrible that I had to go through this tragedy myself to understand how I can help others,” Ms Ellery said. “I guess this is my silver lining, I am trying to change a tragedy into a positive by helping others.
“If I can make that endgame as quick and as painless as possible for these young victims, it’s all I can ask.”
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CHAMPIONS of the West rewards ordinary people doing extraordinary things in Western Sydney to the tune of $10,000 grants in multiple categories.
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This year’s categories include small business, education, sport, and the arts.
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