Walking through the fully stocked shelves of the Dress for Success Khyber Pass Road boutique, AdviceFirst Financial Adviser Emily Owens is amazed at how the charity has grown.
It is not her first time through their doors; 20 years ago, Emily was a client at the Dress for Success boutique, then located on Boston Road, Mt Eden.
At that time, their offering was a single visit to the supportive team and access to workwear that would allow women to confidently attend interviews, get a job and keep it.
Emily is delighted that the charity has now expanded to provide a whole week’s worth of clothing (including undergarments) and other essentials such as toiletries, makeup and perfume. They also now provide programmes and further assistance beyond that one visit.
Emily says, “Changes in how we look out for women has improved over this time immensely. And it’s part of [Dress for Success’] story as well.”
“As I’m learning, the more support services that are outside just those clothes – that wraparound support – is so important for women.”
Emily says that her experience at Dress for Success made her “feel motivated to turn up to job interviews.”
“It was sort of exciting because I was not used to having spare money to go clothes shopping and I didn’t have anyone buying me clothes,” she shared.
Today, Emily Owens is a Financial Adviser at AdviceFirst/enable.me group, a financial coaching company focused on supporting New Zealanders to achieve their financial goals and unlock financial freedom.
From “having an empty cup to having an overflowing cup,” she is now able to help other women who are going through similar struggles.
Emily is championing enable.me’s support of Dress for Success as a corporate sponsor, wanting to give back to the charity that supported her through a pivotal time of her life. She has been the organiser of multiple initiatives, such as fundraising events and a recent clothing drive, and wants to do even more to give back.
She believes that by sharing her story with other women in need she can inspire them to reach out for help and support.
Intelligent and capable, growing up Emily was in the “brainy” class and flew through School Certificate earlier than her peers.
However, outside of school, she became disconnected from her parents and found herself living with extended family and then living on her own.
School remained the priority, and Emily championed herself to remain in school until the end of Year 12, even when flatting outside of her family home. After Year 12, Emily felt that continuing education and working towards a career was important for her life trajectory.
With a lack of connection to supportive adults to guide her direction in life, she had to push to do this herself.
Navigating the systems of support such as the Independent Youth Benefit, Emily says she was “only responsible to [her]self.”
She started a Diploma through AUT but found relying on public transport options or other people for help was too difficult to sustain.
This led to her dropping out of the course, and Emily knew she needed to find work. This is where Dress for Success came in.
Recommended to the charity by Work and Income (WINZ), 17-year-old Emily arrived at the doors of Dress for Success, not sure what to expect but excited to have some clothes to wear for job interviews.
There she found a “safe space,” and adults “behind [her] and ready to help [her] get to that point.”
She says, “It was super comfortable and I was amongst really lovely people, really warm… for the first time we had the same goal for me.”
“It was not just the clothing, the clothing was the physical reason to turn up. But it was around what next and the support I received.”
Life continued with more setbacks for Emily; she fell pregnant with an abusive partner. She lived in a campground cabin until she could access a Housing New Zealand house.
When her baby was five weeks old, the baby’s father was involved in a head-on road accident. He passed away from impact. Although tragic, this released Emily from the isolation of the abusive relationship and the terror that came with it.
She says, “in a split second everything had changed… and now I could make choices that were better. So I did.”
From there, everything improved for Emily, and those better choices began to pay dividends. She studied a business degree and gained experience working in a bank, which ultimately led her to become a Financial Adviser at enable.me.
Now, Emily is focused on achieving her goals and ensuring a positive life for her son, now 23. Something she is most proud of is that her son calls her almost every day, in stark contrast to her family experience growing up.
“He wants to hang out with me – or talk to me – everyday, which I am extremely proud of,” she says.
Emily still credits that first visit to Dress for Success for giving her the spark and inspiration to keep pushing forward; a feeling that life could be so much more.
When she was asked what she would share with other women who are looking for similar help, she said “It might be like they are stumbling across buried treasure. It’s good stuff and they haven’t necessarily asked for it.”
“It’s a treasure, it’s not just stuff. Stuff is important, we rely on stuff. But I think the people that the clients will come across [at Dress for Success], from where I am now to look back, that’s gems, that’s sparkles, that’s treasure.”
Want to know more about how we could help your financial situation? Book a consultation with an enable.me financial adviser and coach today to get a better understanding of how we can help you achieve your financial goals, and the experts you could be working with when you sign up to an enable.me programme. Costs apply.
If you have experienced or are experiencing family harm, you can access help or information here:
- Women’s Refuge: Crisis line – 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7)
- Shine: Helpline – 0508 744 633 (available 24/7)
- It’s Not Ok: Family violence information line – 0800 456 450
- Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services
- White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men’s violence towards women
- NZ Government: For information about Financial Abuse
