CareSouth’s Brighter Futures program is a service which aims to prevent families who are struggling from fracturing.

The program, which has been running for over a decade, provides support to families facing challenging situations like domestic violence, mental health issues or drug and alcohol problems. Brighter Futures caseworkers work directly with families to build the capacity within the family unit and assist parents to give their children the best possible start in life. Caseworkers also advocate for parents to access essential support services which will enhance their child’s quality of life.

This year CareSouth’s Brighter Futures caseworkers have helped 177 families from Gerroa to Helensburgh who have one or more children under the age of nine, or families who are expecting a child but face challenging obstacles to parenting.

The program received 130 new referrals, 96% of which were referred by the Department of Family & Community Services because children were considered at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH). Of the 130 new referrals received this year 107 families were allocated a caseworker and began working with the program.

Brighter Futures is a voluntary program so families can choose to decline the service. Of these 107 allocated families only 6 declined the service. This has resulted in a 95% uptake for Brighter Futures.

Families struggling with parenting issues or experiencing domestic violence had the highest referral rates to the Brighter Futures program in 2016-2017, however, there were significant increases across all our entry criteria. This was particularly noticeable in relation to clients being referred for parenting issues (13% increase), domestic violence (15% increase) and mental health (9% increase).

In the 2016-17 financial year our Brighter Futures program was selected to participate in the NSW SafeCare trial. SafeCare is an evidence-based parent training program developed for parents with children aged 0 to 5 who are at risk of, or have been identified as experiencing neglect and abuse. The program aims to increase positive parent-child and parent-infant interactions and improve the health of children and safety in the home. We will implement the program in 2017-18.

What’s it like to be a Grandmother and carer?

It has taken almost 60 years but Bellambi grandmother Jean Barham has finally found her voice.

Jean, a carer for her two young grandchildren, was at breaking point when she joined CareSouth’s Brighter Futures program in 2015. Now two years later, with the support of her Brighter Futures caseworkers, Jean has gained the skills and confidence to advocate for her grandchildren – one of whom has a disability – and her community.

Jean credits her caseworkers Cristina and Kate with turning her life around.

“I knew I had to be a role model for my grandchildren, but I didn’t feel like I had a voice,” said Jean. “Sometimes as a nanna you’re not heard, you’re not listened to. So it was important that I did get heard because there were children at risk. It was Cristina who listened to me. She’s weaved her magic.”

Cristina immediately recognised Jean’s desire to help her grandchildren and her hunger to learn the skills to do this.

“She always had that in her,” said Cristina. “But nobody gave her that support that she needed and told her ‘Yes, you can do it Jean!’”

Education was the key for Jean and she signed up for every Brighter Futures program on offer. This opened up a multitude of doors and now Jean is a driving force behind The Collective 2518, CareSouth’s Stir It Up cooking program and Healthy Cities Illawarra’s Cook, Chill, Chat. Jean also runs the Bellambi walking group, a Bellambi safety group and an anti-graffiti group.

One of her proudest achievements is earning a TAFE diploma.

“I’m 60 and I got a diploma, how good is that? You have no idea what freedom you get when you have an education. You can understand more, you don’t have to fear things, you don’t have to live in fear,” said Jean.

Jean was also asked by Wollongong Police to become a domestic violence mentor for her community. She is candid about her hard-knock life and the domestic violence she has been subjected to at the hands of her daughter, who suffers from a mental illness. When Jean saw that her grandchildren were also at risk of harm she knew she had to do something to break the cycle of abuse.

“They did ask me because of my experience with domestic violence. They were able to train 12 of us to mentor people who were in an unsafe situation and too frightened to know what to do. Our role is to mentor people who are maybe too scared to talk to the police themselves. I’ll go and do it for them.”

There is an increasing number of grandparents who are primary carers to their grandchildren across NSW. Australian Bureau of Statistics data reports that there were 31,100 children and young people living with their grandparents in Australia in 2005. That number is on the rise and as Jean points out it is essential that they have a voice.

“It’s important for a Nanna in my position to be heard. We’re a growing group, hopefully we don’t become a majority, and we do stay the minority. But it is big, the amount of grandparents who are doing what I’m doing.”

Reflecting on the changes in her life over the past two years, Jean credits CareSouth’s Brighter Futures program, and the support from her caseworkers, with turning her life around.

“Just having those extra skills that I have collected along the way through Brighter Futures has empowered me. That has given me the confidence to be able to articulate more than three words in a sentence.”

Jean admits she still has moments where she doubts her capacity to step up and face the difficult challenges that being a kinship carer presents but she knows she has the backing of her caseworkers.

“Brighter Futures said ‘we do believe you can do it’ so I said to myself well they think I can, so alright I can.

“Brighter Future, that’s exactly what it feels like. Not just for me but for my grandson, my grand-daughter and as it’s turned out the whole community. The whole of Bellambi.”