Hi, I’m Melissa Murray, founder of Horizons of Hope.
For over a decade, I’ve worked as a trauma-informed practitioner in Therapeutic Residential Care Services, with children living in out-of-home care. I’ve supported children and young people through some of their most vulnerable moments, supporting them to rebuild trust, find safety, and discover their strengths.
In 2022 I moved into the disability sector, to help educate disability support workers on differentiating behaviours caused by trauma and a participants disability. It was during this time that I noticed there was often a disconnect between participants and their families. Parents, partners/carers, were doing their absolute best, many who had to work to ensure the bills were being paid and many having to quit working to ensure their loved one was getting the care they needed. They were exhausted, overwhelmed, and often felt alone and confused.
In late 2024, I received my own diagnosis of ADHD with mild autistic traits after years of struggling to function, following a mild head injury in 2020. My injury had not only impacted me, but also my family. My family began to say things like “you’re not the same person anymore”, because I wasn’t. The smallest things would ‘set me off’. Dirty dishes in the sink, too much noise (kids being kids, tv, phones etc) Things not being done properly (washing dishes, cleaning, folding of washing) and being touched. When everything got too much, it’s like part of my brain would shut down. It impacted my speech, I’d stop talking mid-sentence because I either forgot what I was trying to say or I couldn’t remember the words, or I would explode in rage (yelling aggressively, especially when trying to get my point across).
My experiences has given (and continues to give) me a whole new perspective on Neurodiversity and how it impacts others, especially families. I know firsthand what it feels like to not understand or be understood, to mask and struggle silently, until you can’t. I see how things I say and do impact my family (and others), how they don’t understand why I’m suddenly different and don’t like the person I have ‘become’.
It’s like my experiences opened my eyes to the gaps between supporting NDIS participants and the support their caregivers weren’t receiving, and I felt driven to create ‘something’ to ensure EVERYONE received the support, they so desperately needed.
I became hyper focused (a Neurodiverse superpower) to support families and to let them know that “I see them” and understand (to a degree) how they are feeling. It was during a conversation, where I was explaining what I wanted to give families, that our name ‘Horizons of Hope’ appeared. I was explaining that I wanted to give families ‘hope of a brighter/better tomorrow’, ‘hope, that no matter how challenging today was, when the sun goes down it will rise again tomorrow and with-it bring hope for the future’. And I truly want to give that to families. Because I really believe in the power of HOPE! My belief in HOPE is what helps me get out of bed everyday. HOPE that today will be better than yesterday, HOPE that I can improve not only my life, but the lives of my participants and their families, one day at a time.
I am committed to creating something that truly sees and supports the whole person and their whole family.
So I welcome you to Horizons of Hope, where we Empower Individuals, Strengthen Families and Unite Individuals.
With love,
M x