I am Phuong Thi and a Vietnamese Australian. 

I use a wheelchair and I live in my own home. I made adaptations in my home so I can live a very independent life.  

A little more about myself, I am a good-natured person, who  enjoys spending time in nature and with my fellow peers. I find gratitude in what life offers to me spiritually. 

I am an emotionally rich person. When I am happy, my world is filled with the blue-sky colour, and my favourite colour is the Jacaranda flower purple. 

I worked as a fashion designer, and I made clothes for customers. I love getting well dressed. I also volunteer and I am passionate about this. I worked locally at Villawood Primary school as a kitchen hand, and I am a member of a local choir. The choir visits local nursing homes and sing the carols over Christmas. 

In the last 4 years I have been active in DDA’s projects and activities. I attended many training programs.  I am now a facilitator for the Vietnamese peer café group and a trained peer mentor.  

In the peer cafe, we provide support and assist peers with access to useful information in the community. My passion is to gain more knowledge so I can better support my peers.

I am a member of the Circle of Support Team.   We built a circle of support for people with disability from multicultural backgrounds. My role there, is to connect, support and mentor people to achieve their dreams and live a good and independent life.  

  My goal as a peer mentor is to work with you as a team, based on trust and respect. I am a willing listener and as a peer mentor I hope we together can achieve the best outcome for you. My dedication to peer mentoring is driven by my deep sense of care for you as a peer.  

Peers may have issues, challenges and goals they like to work through. My life and work were also a filled with difficulties and challenges, but I have stayed positive and forward looking. 

My work as a tailor helped me a great deal in getting to know many people with unique needs and wants. I deeply care about people around me, listen attentively and always find the best ways to fulfill my work. 

I would like to share with my peers my experiences and stories. I would love to see all of us work side by side in this journey of peer support.  

if you choose me as your peer mentor, I can support you in the best way possible as I have shared lived experiences, and I will be using my peer mentor skills to help you reach your goal.