Rebuilding the bond between parent and child
I was an alcoholic and unfit to look after my daughter.
I had several miscarriages before Jane was born. It was a very stressful time and our seven-year relationship fell apart when she was four months old. I moved in with my cousin and expected things to get better but it got worse. Jane is clingy, so I never had a break, except at night. That’s when I started drinking to unwind.
One day I was struggling to cope and called my former partner, Liam, to take care of Jane for two weeks. But once that time was up, Liam refused to give Jane back or let me see her. He said I was an alcoholic and unfit to look after Jane. I filed a recovery order with the Court but the Court ordered Jane to continue living with Liam. I was ordered to undergo alcohol screening and only allowed supervised visits with Jane. Then suddenly Liam’s family said I couldn’t see her anymore.
That’s when I asked Better Place Australia for help.
Liam and I were referred to the Better Place Australia children’s contact service (CCS) to help re-establish my relationship with Jane and work towards a smooth transition during changeover visits between Liam and myself.
At the first session, Jane recognised me instantly and reached out for me. That made me so happy! It was hard saying goodbye at the end of the session especially when Jane cried.
The service team assured us it would get better and worked with us on different strategies to make these transitions easier for Jane. We saw the service team every fortnight for two months. I underwent regular alcohol screening and joined a support group to help me stop drinking.
After five sessions, the service team issued an observational report to Liam, based on the time Jane spent with me. They also sent it to our legal representatives and the independent child lawyer who represented Jane.
The report also stated that Liam and I had reached an agreement, which was supported by the independent child lawyer, and that I could have weekly unsupervised time with Jane.
I now spend one hour twice a week with her but this will slowly increase over time. I have also stopped drinking completely. I’m really grateful for this service, otherwise, I don’t think I would have ever been able to see Jane again.
Click here to find out more about the Better Place Australia children’s contact service.
