Before a social worker turned family life around, Sarah struggled to manage her 10-year-old son’s violent outbursts and her father’s ill temperament.
The Doreen resident said her son’s behavioural issues began manifesting when he was five.
“Nathan had issues fitting in so we took him to a paediatrician to get a referral to the Royal Children’s Hospital. It was a doctor from their behavioural clinic who told us he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism,” Sarah (not her real name) said.
“I couldn’t take the iPad off him without him lashing out and, as he got bigger, he became worse and more aggressive.”
To make matters worse, Sarah had similar issues with her father, who she took in to live with her partner and two sons while he sorted himself out.
“Dad was foul-mouthed and ended up nicking off when I called the police on him,” Sarah said.
To exact revenge he falsely accused Sarah’s long-term partner of indecently touching her children, but in a twist of fate her contact with the police to smooth over the allegations allowed her to open up about her struggle with Nathan.
Police referred her to the Thomastown-based Children’s Protection Society (CPS), which assigned her two social workers.
“Within three months, we started to notice a difference,” Sarah said.
Nathan’s medication was changed and Sarah was armed with a list of strategies to help manage his behaviour.
While her story is not an anomaly in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, her access to support isn’t the norm.
CPS chief executive Aileen Ashford said about 80 families were on a waiting list for the service.
“We’re completely stretched,” she said. “We need more investment into family violence services so we can provide ongoing support.”
The CPS is one among a group of agencies calling for specific services to improve the lot of families and children in the outer northern suburbs.
Their Families on the Edge campaign is calling on all political parties in the run-up to the election to pledge at least $2.4 million for a three-year pilot project to collate data, fund education programs and provide every suburb in Whittlesea with a “family engagement facilitator” to help the most vulnerable.
Northern Weekly is supporting the initiative.
