Sarah

They respect my choices and privacy – Sarah's story

When Sarah reached out to Family Wellbeing Services, she was unemployed and had injuries due to domestic violence. Her 7 children often missed school when there wasn’t enough food for them to all have lunch. While the father was in prison at the time, the extended family on the father’s side was very controlling and she didn’t get to see her own family.

Sarah worked with Family Wellbeing Services for 16 months. Halfway through, Child Safety became involved because of domestic violence perpetrated on Sarah and her older children by their dad.

There were some services the worker suggested that Sarah felt weren’t right for her or her children and the Family Wellbeing Services worker respected her choices. Instead of going to see a domestic violence counsellor, Sarah chose to see a counsellor who could focus on her long-term mental health.

Family Wellbeing Services attended meetings with Child Safety, the Police and the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service to ensure the family’s safety and wellbeing.

Thanks to Family Wellbeing Services, the family was able to improve their cultural identity, safety, physical and mental health and have reconnected with Sarah’s family. Sarah is working on her capacity to go back into the workforce and building her confidence on managing her budget and working out what she needs for herself and her kids.

There are boundaries in place with the father’s family and the case with Child Safety was closed.