Mason said he would like a mentor and agreed he needed the support, however, was anxious to meet someone new alone and asked if the SHINE for Kids team member he felt comfortable with, Tanya, could sit in.
Concerns were short-lived however as from their first visit, Mason and his mentor Paul (pictured) hit it off!
They talked about many things, discovering they shared an interest in trail bike riding and mechanics.
Mason was incredibly nervous to meet Paul alone for his second visit but went ahead with it anyway and was super proud of himself afterwards.
Paul, who is studying Psychological Science, has a calm, friendly disposition which has helped Mason feel comfortable.
Eventually, the time came for Mason to be released and the two met up in the community for lunch. Paul helped Mason update his resume and apply for work.
Unfortunately, Mason reoffended and returned to custody.
Upon hearing this news, Paul made sure that he had a visit booked as soon as possible with Mason and wanted him to know that as his mentor, he would not judge him or give up on him.
Through consistency of contact, Paul and Mason have built a solid rapport and a sound foundation of trust.
“Now that trust has been built … I’d like to be of assistance and guidance to Mason … As a mentor, I want to see the best possible outcomes for him.
It has been great to strengthen our relationship and give him an outlet of someone to talk to regularly … moving forward I’d like to support Mason to flourish where I can.”
Paul and Mason continue to meet and talk regularly on the phone to work on goals together.
It’s wonderful to see the positive impact a mentor is having in this young person’s life.
-By Tanya Macfie, SHINE for Kids
Thank you to Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers who fund Stand As One.
Aidan* is a First Nations young person and was referred to SFK Mentoring when he was 12 years old after his dad was incarcerated. Like many children in the program who have […]
This Christmas mums in custody and their children at home will still be connected by these beautiful baubles with messages of love they created for each other. Children will have a little […]
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Raymond*, an upbeat 14-year-old boy, and his twin sisters, Megan* and Alix*, 17, have been through some tough times but are working hard to get things back on track with the support […]
There was a real sense of achievement in the room on the day 10 mums in custody at Dillwynia Correctional Centre graduated after completing our Bringing Up Great Kids program over six […]
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Elders who work with our Belonging to Family program in Kempsey and our team celebrated the week across the whole state this year! Belonging to Family is an intensive, culturally appropriate […]
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This National Volunteer Week (NVW), we are SHINEing a light on a few of the amazing volunteers working with us to make positive change in young people’s lives in keeping with this […]
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Excited kids received a surprise this year after our South Coast Correctional Centre craft session allowed dads to make gifts and let their kids know they are thinking of them. “We received […]
Our first Child & Parent Days at Alexander Maconochie Centre since the pandemic were a resounding success as children from all over the state enjoyed precious time with their mums and dads […]
“I have always hoped and prayed my son would connect to his Culture through dance.” Five of the young people from our Stand As One mentoring program recently took part in a […]
A group of VERY excited children of all ages hugged their dads, some for the first time in years, at our Macquarie Correctional Centre Child & Parent Day. These special days are […]
The dads who take part in our Storytime program at Clarence Correctional Centre surprised themselves with how much they loved making these colourful placemats for their children in our Christmas craft workshop! […]
Mum Becky* has completed our Keeping Us Together program at Dillwynia Correctional Centre. Here she reflects on what she’s gained from the program and the future she wants to build for her […]
In 2022, our SHINE for Kids school Mentoring Program was launched on the Central Coast to support local kids facing the hardship of having a parent in custody. Our team has been […]
The mums at Clarence Correctional Centre were thrilled to hear that our Storytime program this month would include a special Christmas craft workshop! The workshop gave mums the opportunity to create handmade […]
A group of very calm SHINE kids in Victoria have taken part in our first Wellness Day, learning techniques to help them manage stress and anxiety. Everyone sometimes feels overwhelmed, especially children, […]
Every weekend, Ben*, 12, Sharee*, 10* and Len*, 7, travel with their mum to Bathurst from Sydney to visit dad in custody at Bathurst Correctional Centre. The family have a strong connection […]
Diana*, a mum in custody at Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney, wants nothing more than to do everyday mum things again with her two children. At our recent Child & Parent Day, […]
The first group of dads in custody at Acacia Prison in Perth, WA has graduated from Storytime! SHINE for Kids’ Zoe said that the WA team met “some fabulous dads who love […]
We recently supported one of our mums in custody at Clarence during her first visit in 13 months with her son and daughter. The occasion was even more special because it was […]
To mark International Volunteer Day 2022, we spoke with Rachel, one of our wonderful volunteer mentors working with a young person in juvenile justice in Western Sydney. Rachel has been a volunteer […]
Our kids in Melbourne had an amazing experience thanks to the team at Deloitte Digital who volunteered their time to help us deliver our first Technology Day! A group of very excited […]
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 […]
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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 […]
In 2022, SHINE for Kids in partnership with CONFIT, launched our mentoring program for young people in juvenile justice at Cobham Correctional Centre in Sydney. While there have been challenges, we’re really […]
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 […]
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, our team sat down with dad Fred* to complete a Storytime recording for his youngest child. Fred is working to improve his literacy skills, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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