Ria Wolf

Ria took up the role of Clare PPN’s Social Inclusion Rep on the Social Development SPC (Strategic Policy Committee) of Clare County Council in October 2024. 

Ria writes:
I’m a trans woman living in Clare for the past decade. I’ve been wanting to be a part of a programme or community where a voice for people like me could be heard, and I do think my ability of problem-solving and people skills could aid people in my community. 

Since I was young and living in poor conditions in a broken home it’s been a vocation of mine to help those in need: this is why I chose my career path of social care where I can be a gear of change in the area I will be targeting. As I get my degree, anything like Erasmus trips to learn more about environmental issues and how to tackle such things as carbon emissions, for example, my recent trip to Italy for a group project where we were put into teams and put all our best ideas together on ways to tackle carbon emissions, but also being taught the harm it has on the environment in general. 

I love people and I think if there’s anything that I can be a part of to make life more equal for the individual, that matters to me. One thing someone said to me that resonated with me was: “You being who you are lets people know that they don’t have to be afraid.” That feeling and nuance, if in any capacity I could help someone else to know and feel – that is the ultimate goal for me. Any project or community that might put me into a place of making change happen, I’ll always put my best foot forward.

Before choosing my path of social care, just as I began my transition, I decided while letting myself adjust to my medication I went to exploring a more creative choice of helping people, which was making videos, such as motivational speaking through YouTube, even if making one person’s day better, it brought me a lot of joy and I found a sense of pride in it too. 

One thing I found in it is, while yes many people did this, I could do it my way, with my own ideas, and I have a lot of confidence in my ability to look at something from a new angle. I do believe this skill would aid me in other projects. One thing I have and will always strengthen is my resolve, seeing so many people growing up, being torn down by living conditions and unfair treatment due to race, sexual orientation etc. I hated seeing it, it didn’t make sense to me as a kid and it made sad and angry that no one was helping them, just looking the other way is not an option for me, I’m glad nowadays more is being done to help more people, I want a hand to play in it as much as I can.