I found the early separation from my child
· Housing families together on release (including
community). Women usually turn to drugs and their old
lifestyle mainly because of not being reunified with their
children. Addressing this issue both before and after
release is crucial.
Koori women have DHS involvement but they need to be
educated in the way of taking their powers back. Support
from VACCA to encourage young mothers to speak on
behalf of their own family and what they want and need
for their family, instead of being dictated to as I found
happened to me with my first child, would be helpful.
their children.
Some women know where services are and some do
not. Most women do not understand how best to use the
services provided and what they can and can't offer.
· Dealing with life again, such as bills and managing money,
helped me strengthen bonds with my children, especially my
daughter who had been returned from care. It also helped
me as an individual to step out of my comfort zone (I was
housebound a lot) to enable me to do more activity-based
outings on our own, without VACCA's assistance for funding.