Franchesca Isla: After the award, the work really begins
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Once you’ve been recognised for your efforts, what happens next? You double down, according to 2023 Lifeline Canberra Rising Women of Spirit Franchesca Isla.
Having won the celebrated community award last year, counsellor for Toora Women Inc and founder of bullying prevention charity Brave program for Bully Zero Australia Francesca says that “life has been kaleidoscopic” since.
“There have been tones of anguish and grief – where both my heart and body have felt the weight; and there have been shades abundant in good – that have triumphed over the suffering. I turned 30, opened my own counselling practice, Evergreen, and published my very first book, notes to my daughters.”
Wanting to use her voice and platform to encourage Canberrans to fight against the stigma of abuse and mental health challenges, Franchesca says the only way society will change for the better is if more voices are added to the call for change.
“The more we speak of our vulnerabilities, the less they are held with stigma. The more we acknowledge our innate and very natural ability to feel, the less we are intimidated by those emotions. The more we speak of our intrinsic need to be safely held in the mind and heart of another, and the times where that has not occurred, the less daunting the concepts of support networks, safety plans, and disclosures become.”
As for starting important mental health conversations in our own communities and social circles – and inspiring the next Rising Women of Spirit – Franchesa says it’s all about realising that all stories deserve to be heard.
“I think this starts with an understanding that our stories are indeed significant. We do not need to be ‘popular’, ‘pretty’, or ‘poetic’ to be enough. We are of infinite worth, and the things that we feel, choose, and experience matter.”
“Once this is firmly established within our minds, we then, usually, hold some capacity to seek that togetherness. Whether it be communal connection or communal support, the more we tell our stories – even if only to one person – the more the conversation inevitably continues.”
As for Franchesca, she says the future is all about “life, in all its colour”.
“I treasure every moment I spend with my children, continue to write, and am inspired each time a client sits before me with every intention to heal. Witnessing that is an honour.”
