The CareSouth Aunties and Uncles program is an early intervention strategy to support children and young people whose families are struggling, by linking them with a volunteer mentor.

When families are under pressure a child’s sense of happiness, self-esteem, and well-being is undermined. The Aunties and Uncles program supports vulnerable children by matching them with carefully selected and trained volunteer mentors who engage children in activities like fishing, bike riding, family picnics, weekend sport or simply cooking a meal together.

Parents under pressure also get a break while the young people spend time with their CareSouth aunty or uncle. An aunty or uncle can make a big difference for a child living with disadvantage and hardship, simply by engaging them in everyday activities. This helps them learn social and life skills and also creates happy childhood memories.

The Aunties and Uncles program currently has 24 young people from across the Illawarra and South Coast. Those in the program are primary school-aged when they are first linked with their volunteer mentors. Volunteers come from all walks of life and are carefully selected and dedicated to supporting and nurturing the young people they share their time with. Most children spend one weekend a month with their CareSouth aunty or uncle. However the six staff who manage and coordinate the program are developing a more flexible provision of service to meet the needs of families and volunteers.

Aunties and Uncles program managers and coordinators are based in Berkeley, Nowra and Ulladulla and staff frequently run school holiday workshops in a bid to bring those who are a part of the program together.

Earlier this year 14 young people, program managers, coordinators and volunteer mentors came together for an art workshop at Arthur Boyd’s Bundanon on the Shoalhaven River. Young people, volunteer mentors and CareSouth staff found their inner artists and sketched, painted and built a sculpture in the rainforest using sticks and rocks. The group also had some good old-fashioned fun running and rolling down Bundanon’s lush green lawns.

As well as bringing together children and young people from the program, Aunties and Uncles coordinators run information sessions to support volunteer mentors. Earlier this year they hosted a peer support evening for carers in the Shoalhaven. The workshop was a networking opportunity for volunteers while also providing information about the impact of trauma on brain development and challenging pre-teen behaviours.

The Aunties and Uncles program was one of the first support services CareSouth developed for children and young people in the Shoalhaven 20 years ago and it continues to grow, with plans to expand the program into the ACT.

The King Family

Pam and Shane King joined CareSouth’s Aunties and Uncles program four years ago and began mentoring a shy young boy named Lachie.* Once a month the rugby-mad family take Lachie on an outing and engage him in the activities they are passionate about. A year ago the family asked Lachie if he would like to play rugby. Lachie, now nine, took the ball and ran with it and has never looked back.

Lachie is one of 24 children in CareSouth’s Aunties and Uncles program, which operates in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Milton/Ulladulla. The program was set up more than 20 years ago to support disadvantaged children by linking them with carefully selected and trained volunteer carers and mentors.

When the Kings signed up to join Aunties and Uncles they had no idea how life-changing it would be. The Kings wanted to make a difference to a vulnerable child’s life but instead it was Lachie who changed their lives.

“Aunties and Uncles is an amazing program, not because of what we do for Lachie, but because of what Lachie does for our family,” said Pam, who has a teenage son and daughter. “I think with Lachie it was a perfect match for us. He really is part of our family. I think of him as our third child. I would be devastated if he didn’t want to be a part of our family anymore. I really love him.”

Pam recalled the day Lachie first came into their home and marvelled at how far he has come out of his shell.

“Lachie was five-and-a-half when he first came to us and he would hardly speak. Since then the changes we have seen in Lachie have been amazing. He is articulate, confident and loves socialising with other children,” Pam said.

The flexibility of CareSouth’s Aunties and Uncles program also means the Kings can spend as much time with Lachie as they choose to, which makes getting to rugby training and matches a lot easier.

Aunties and Uncles Illawarra coordinator Vickie Blackwell said pressure on families, for all sorts of reasons, can have an impact on a child’s happiness, self-esteem and well-being.

“An aunty or uncle who steps forward to give a vulnerable child their time, while also giving parents a break, can make all the difference for a child living with disadvantage and hardship,” she said.

“It really does take a village to raise a child. And that’s exactly what the Kings have done for Lachie; they have a rugby club, a complete community behind him, and they work in partnership with Lachie’s dad. They are as much a support for him as they are for Lachie.”

*not his real name