Kind , Caring , Honest

Female , 25

I'm Lisa, after being made redundant last January I was unemployed, claiming job seekers allowance for about 4 months. I have been working as a personal adviser for just over a year as a civil servant.
I am single, still living at home with my parents and saving up to move out! I left school after completing my A-levels and had to go straight into work as my parents were struggling financially and needed a third income so while I am on a stable salary I have just started to work towards my Psychology degree with the Open university.I am naturally a caring person and want to help others, I am very open minded and non-judgemental and I am happy to talk to anyone and offer them advice/support or to just listen to anything that they need to get off their chest.

Asthma

I was diagnosed with asthma at 16 after years of suffering with breathing problems and lots of days off sick from school where I literally didn't have the energy to stand which I now know was because I wasn't getting enough oxygen. I have had to take steroids on a couple of occasions and use my inhalers frequently. Asthma doesn't always get the attention it deserves and people often underestimate how dangerous it can be. When I was younger I wasn't too embarrassed but I have found that as I have got older I have had comments from people saying that at my age I should have grown out of it and I think that lack of awareness is a real problem so if you have asthma/you have friends or family that do and you want to know anything then ask me

Job seekers benefits/advice

I work in the jobcentre as a personal adviser, I have been doing this for a year and see newly unemployed people when they first come in to claim their benefit. I am happy to answer questions about what you would be entitled to or give you support creating/updating CVs writing covering letters etc but please be aware that I am not legally allowed to access your details on our system to solve any problems and can only advise you to contact your local processing centre of jobcentre plus adviser.

Weight issues/being overweight

I was slim and constantly on the move and did ballet until I broke my leg at age 5, spent 2 months in hospital with a spiral fracture and had to be in traction, took me a few months to get back on my feet and even then I still suffered a lot of pain and because I was young I never thought about my weight. My parents are both overweight and I didn't really think anything of me being fat until I got to secondary school and was bullied for being so, it really knocked my confidence and made me comfort eat even more which of course made the bullying worse! These days I am still over weight but I am happy with who I am and try not to let what size I am stop me from doing the things I love!

I spend all day at work helping and advising people and I really enjoy it because I think that if you are able to help someone then you should.I think that on-line mentoring is a brilliant idea as it is something that means you don't even have to reveal your identity or meet someone new which for some people is an issue.

Groups you have created.