James was set on making a fresh start at being a parent when he signed up for Keeping Us Together and Storytime at Parklea Correctional Centre. He had been in and out of prison since he was a child, repeating the intergenerational incarceration cycle as his dad had been in prison most of James’s childhood. James and his partner had become parents at a young age and, due to their drug addictions and unstable home environment, their child was placed into kinship care.
During the SHINE for Kids programs, James shared that as he was from an Indigenous background it was important to him that his child be placed with kinship and not in the foster care system. He shared that he’d felt so relieved when he found out that his child was living with family nearby and not with a stranger. As James had been in prison much of his life, he had lost contact with his child and hadn’t seen them in years.
Whilst in custody this time, James was placed in the drug recovery program and a goal he had was to work on establishing and repairing his relationship with his child after so long apart. He initiated contact with his child by participating in Storytime and his child’s caseworker was supportive of him once he told them he was participating in our programs.
When he started Keeping Us Together, he had a full A4 page of questions for the facilitator. During the sessions he was a very active participant and said, ‘I didn’t know that!’ and ‘ah yeah, that’s why they [children] do this’. He graduated from Keeping Us Together feeling prepared to take the next steps with forging a positive relationship with his child and expressed how grateful he was to the SHINE team.
“I learnt things I never thought I would about myself and my child. I don’t want to repeat the mistakes my father made”, James told our team. He said when he gets released, the first thing he is going to do is meet his child’s caseworker and further develop their contact and bond, and that one day he wants to buy his kid a pizza!
Our kids in Victoria had an amazing experience thanks to Deloitte Digital who helped us deliver our first Technology Day to some very excited kids! A group of seven 10 to 14-year-olds […]
At the Helana Jones Centre in Brisbane, our mums and bubs celebrated Diwali during playgroup with some Rangoli-inspired art! Diwali, also known as the ‘festival of light’, celebrates the triumph of light […]
By staff member Abbey Kenaly Over the past six weeks, seven mums have been participating in Keeping Us Together at Dillwynia Correctional Complex. The most rewarding part of facilitating Keeping Us Together is seeing the […]
Our RISE team in Frankston, Victoria have reported some big wins for their kids this year! While the team say all of the kids in RISE Victoria have shown admirable growth, they […]
Every week our Clarence Valley RISE team makes a special trip. They load up the car with activities and worksheets and drive about 75 km northwest of Grafton to visit Baryulgil, a […]
Over the school holidays, SHINE for Kids teams across the country held special RISE Together Days for children in the program. The days were an opportunity for kids to meet others going […]
Over the school holidays, SHINE for Kids teams across the country held special RISE Together Days for children in the program. The days were an opportunity for kids to meet others going […]
Over the school holidays, SHINE for Kids teams across the country held special RISE Together Days for children in the program. The days were an opportunity for kids to meet others going […]
Our RISE Clarence Coordinator has been connecting with incredibly resilient children and their families across the Clarence Valley. One of these students is Adam*, who is 9 years old. Adam was referred […]
Our team in Queensland have been supporting this dad to connect with his newborn daughter. As he says, the support has completely changed his family’s life. Thank you to this father for […]
Charlie* is in custody at Parklea and is dearly missing his 4-year-old daughter Amelia*. Before he was incarcerated, Amelia and Charlie would read together every night at bedtime. He approached SHINE for […]
By our Windsor Child and Family Worker I’ve worked with a family with mum in custody at Dillwynia for over two years. When I first met the family, the children were six […]
During the week of the 15th-21st of May, we celebrated National Families Week with our children and families. One way of connecting with families was through a drawing competition and the winner would […]
Aaron*, a dad in custody at Parklea, recently approached us about our Storytime program. He has a four year old daughter Chloe* who he hadn’t seen face to face for over two […]
Mason* has spent most of his teenage years going between out-of-home care and custody. He’s no longer in contact with his family and finds it difficult to maintain positive relationships. Mason was […]
One of our wonderful long time volunteers Dennis recently reached out to us to pass on some lovely news. He and his wife had just attended the graduation of a young woman […]
National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is ‘Better Together’, and appropriately so, as together we accomplish so much more. At this time of year, we […]
National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is ‘Better Together’, and appropriately so, as together we accomplish so much more. At this time of year, we […]
National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is ‘Better Together’, and appropriately so, as together we accomplish so much more. At this time of year, we […]
National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is ‘Better Together’, and appropriately so, as together we accomplish so much more. At this time of year, we […]
National Volunteer Week is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is ‘Better Together’, and appropriately so, as together we accomplish so much more. At this time of year, we […]
This month our teams have been connecting with families and seeing how they’re doing and what their needs might be while also letting them know that their Family Connection Packs are on […]
Some special Easter deliveries were made to excited children over the long weekend this Easter! The men at Macquarie Correctional Centre recently participated in a special craft workshop as a way to […]
To celebrate National Youth Week at SHINE, we are sharing the voice and experience of a young person we supported through our mentoring program Stand As One. This is his story. “When […]
Our new Birthday Program is in full swing as our teams purchase specially requested gifts on behalf of a parent in custody, pack and deliver them to many happy children! So far, […]
Recently one of our fabulous citizen fundraisers Ryan got together a group of Bathurst rugby playing friends and acquaintances for a fun day and a good cause to play in the Annual […]
Sierra has two daughters, aged 12 and 9, and when she went into custody a few years ago it was the first time in their lives they’d been separated from her. It […]
“Days like today are tiring but boy are they worth it. I travelled to the outing with a car full of silent children, the return trip was anything but silent.” – Priscilla, […]
“I made gifts for my four children for Christmas because I wouldn’t have gifts for them any other way.” – Mum from Broken Hill Correctional Centre Just before Christmas our crafting expert […]
By a SHINE team member I met Marty*, a dad in custody, one day at the Parklea complex while I was collecting referrals. He asked about our Storytime program and what was […]
Sam, a young Aboriginal boy in the Stand As One mentoring program, was just 15 when he went into custody at Frank Baxter Youth Justice Centre. Sam was the youngest person at […]
This April in Victoria, after a year of restricted access due to COVID, the SHINE for Kids team arranged a very important Ride By Your Side visit for two brave little girls, […]
Wow. Our Victorian team have been blown away by the incredible donation of Christmas gifts from The Sixth Child and Creating the Magic! Last year, thanks to The Sixth Child, we gave […]
Timothy had been in custody at Clarence Correctional Centre for eight months when he joined the Storytime program. It was his first time in custody and he was really struggling with missing […]
The day before the ACT went into lockdown in August, SHINE staff had worked with a father to complete a Storytime recording for his youngest child. The father is working to improve […]
Aaron is three years old and attends the SHINE for Kids playgroup every week with his mum Carly. They live together at Numinbah Correctional Centre while Carly is in custody. Carly approached […]
Meg and her 4 year old son Sam live in Werrington in western Sydney. The family first started engaging with SHINE for Kids through the Parklea Child and Family Centre as Sam’s […]
Jason was transferred to Clarence Correctional Centre as soon as it opened in July 2020. Unfortunately his wife is also incarcerated and her parents have custody of their two young children and […]
Eight months ago, Tracey was referred to SHINE for Kids and began attending our weekly playgroups so that she and her two year old daughter Millie could reconnect. Millie had been in […]
Mia, Declan and Timmy have been living with their grandmother since their dad was incarcerated four years ago. Their mum was also sent into custody two years after dad while she was […]
Every week Tamara spends an hour at school one-on-one with her RISE mentor. They work through any issues Tamara is having with her schoolwork, maths in particular has been a focus, and […]
When Henry came to Storytime he was full of excitement and said he already knew the book he wanted to make for his daughter Alana. It had been forming in his head […]
Robyn and her four children have been working with SHINE for several years but this year was a special one as they prepare for dad to return home in February 2022 after […]
Nine year old Dominque moved in to live with her grandparents two years ago following her dad’s incarceration. While she was able to make friends at her new primary school, she appeared […]
This year the Belonging to Family team at Kempsey have had a homecoming of sorts with the return of Karen Rhodes. Karen was one of the original creators of the Belonging to […]