Our stories

When mum of three Kierah* was incarcerated over ten-hours away from her children and their home in regional Queensland, it was a massive shock to the entire family.

The children had never lived apart from her until then, so the vast physical distance was felt heavily.

They moved to a new house, were placed into care, and faced all of these changes without their mum nearby so they could visit her at least.

Kierah decided that while in custody, she wanted to do everything she could to help ease the difficult time her children were having.

She enrolled in our parenting program, Bringing Up Great Kids, to learn tips and parenting skills to use during phone calls with her children and prepare her to be the best parent she could be when she returned home.

Our team said that while initially a little withdrawn, she soon warmed up and “had lots of questions about one of her children in particular and how to best support this child.”

“She carefully selected stories to suit each child’s personality and finished her recordings with a personal message of love.”

When our team heard that her children lived so far from the centre, she suggested Kierah join our Storytime program as well, where parents in custody create a voice recording of themselves reading a storybook for their child.

“She was excited to have a new way to connect with her children and support them through her absence,” said our team.

“She carefully selected stories to suit each child’s personality and finished her recordings with a personal message of love.”

Our Storytime program is especially valuable when visits are not possible as it helps keep families stay connected and gives children a ‘piece of Mum or Dad’ to have with them at home.

When the Storytime package arrived, the children’s carer immediately contacted our team and told us how excited they were to get something so special from their Mum and that “having something that they can listen to every night before bed will be of great comfort”.

“Kierah has said that she feels comfortable with me, and doing our programs has made her feel more confident in herself as a parent,” our team said.

Her three children can now still have a bedtime story with Mum every night, and this will make all the difference until she’s back home  to tuck them in as well.

*Names and images have been changed to protect the privacy of our program participants.