Keiran*, one of our youngest Rise mentees in Year 1, is bright and confident and loves school!
His mentor knew that with Mother’s Day approaching, Keiran might feel a little sad as he doesn’t see his mum much. She was incarcerated when he was 18 months old.
They speak on the phone sometimes, but she’s four hours away, so he rarely visits her in person.
So together, Keiran and his mentor set to work making sure that while the other kids were creating something to take home for their mums, Keiran would have something equally special to take home for his hero, Dad!
During the session, Keiran and his mentor spent some time talking about feelings and emotions. He said he misses his mum but is proud of his Dad because he works hard and takes great care of him.
Talking about feelings and listening to kids helps them to develop resilience and strategies for their ’emotional toolkit’.
Keiran hasn’t liked to talk much about his mum, and he doesn’t want the other kids at school to know that she’s in custody.
His mentor has been working on creating a trusting environment so that he can open up when he would like to and start to talk with her about any big feelings he might have.
Because he’s a great reader, our mentor always has lots of challenging activities for him to work on.
Keiran is lucky in that his school community is supportive; when the Easter Hat Parade was approaching, his teachers asked us if he could make one with his mentor to avoid missing out. Having teachers aware of the little things like this make a huge difference.
Keiran could proudly display his hat and feel confident that the adults at his school would do their best to support him.
At home, his Dad also does his best to ensure Keiran feels supported and has solid relationships with his siblings who don’t live with them. He recently attended a SHINE for Kids Child & Parent Day, which was a big step in rebuilding his relationship with his mum.
Even though Keiran is just beginning his journey with SHINE for Kids, we are already very proud of him!
Keiran’s ambitious determination will support him in years to come.
Thank you to The Benevolent Society for supporting Rise in-school mentoring on the Central Coast.
Please help us to support more children going through a hard time, donate today. Every bit counts.
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