All families need support from time to time, especially when it comes to raising young children

It was not different for Tracee and Matt who needed support and guidance to build a safe and protective environment for their children.

We first began working with this young family when they were referred to The Benevolent Society. “The three young girls, Kylie, Beth and Shayla, were experiencing neglect, as their home had become an unsafe environment,” explained a case worker. “Both parents were regularly using drugs in the home and there were several health concerns.”

As part of our Resilient Families program, we began by identifying the particular challenges the family was facing and then looked at how they could build on the loving foundations they had as a family. A staff member explained:

“Our goal is to empower parents to be the best parents they can be and to understand the needs of their children. We believe that with support things can change, and will change, for families."

Building resilience

Resilient Families worked with the family over the course of a year. For the first few months they ran intensive sessions for up to six hours a week. Over time, these visits became weekly, then fortnightly as the parents gradually built the skills and confidence to understand and provide for the children’s needs.

These regular home visits gave our child and family worker the opportunity to build a positive, trusting relationship with the family and gain insight into what life was like in their house. This meant that strategies and information specifically tailored to meet the family’s needs could be provided. Resilient Families worked alongside Tracee and Matt to increase their knowledge of child development, enhance their own coping skills and strengthen their family relationships. The aim was to give them the tools to be the parents their children needed them to be, tools they could use long after Benevolent Society had finished working with them.

With this support from The Benevolent Society, the family is now living a very different life. Matt now has a full-time job and no longer uses drugs. Tracee is completing a professional training course which has built her confidence and will hopefully lead to employment opportunities down the track.
Most importantly, both parents have been able to keep up a consistent routine, and all the children are together at home and growing up in a safe and protective environment.

If you would like to know more about our Resilient Families program or other activities run by The Benevolent Society, please call us on 1800 236 762.

*Names and images have been changed to protect members of the family.