SHINE for Kids, in partnership with NSW Health, Durri Aboriginal Corporation Medical Service and the Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre, Community Housing Ltd & Aboriginal Community Housing Ltd, hosted a special Mother’s Day ‘Dip n Paint’ event this May for mums in the local community.
Aboriginal mothers in the local area were invited to join in a day of cultural pampering and wellbeing activities, including creating a beautiful personal painting under the guidance of a local artist.
The day served as a reminder to mothers to take time for themselves and that while they care for others, their own needs are important too.
Services in attendance, including SHINE for Kids, used the day as an opportunity to meet new members of the community, get to know them better, and offer support to any mothers who may be falling through the cracks.
This was the case with one woman our team met. She’d come to the event with her 14-year-old daughter, and the two were excited to spend time together and do something fun, especially since they’d faced hardship at home recently.
With further conversation, our team discovered that the woman’s partner was in custody, and her daughter and other children were facing lots of challenges at the time, including health problems and school refusal.
The children, our team was told, were so traumatised by their father’s incarceration that they didn’t want to leave home to go to school as they were worried their mother would also ‘disappear’.
Luckily, thanks to this event, the family is now connected with SHINE for Kids, which has been able to offer support with transportation and medical appointments, as well as specialised guidance navigating the prison system during this really difficult time.
Other attendees included Aunties and Elders from the community who, so often the supporters, were able to take a moment for themselves.
One Aunty in particular stood out to our team as she’d recently lost her daughter, and our team said that this event was “something she needed. She was so calmly engaged with the painting, and it was good to see her there with the whole community to support her.”
“It was a great day and a chance for community members to speak about loss and their lives, and the services we need in the local community.”
Thank you to the National Indigenous Australians Agency, which supports SHINE for Kids in Kempsey.
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