There's many challenges for a young person when they enter out of home care but in particular residential care. I think some of those challenges really include coming into a home where they don't know anyone. They go to sleep, not knowing the person who is going to be there in the morning when they wake up. They're away from their family and everything familiar to them. They're also living with people who have their own trauma histories. And who are you know, trying to heal I guess from those trauma histories.
This home has a set of particular challenges. These young people are not only in out of home care, and have trauma histories, but they're also either deaf or hearing impaired.
To make the young people feel more comfortable and more at home, we've worked really hard as a team to put together a really strong, caring, consistent team of people who can sign and with that has come immersing ourselves in the deaf community, finding links within the deaf community as through to we can turn to support us and provide us with information on deaf culture.
This little girl came to us in 2014. She was a young person who up until the age of four or five actually didn't have access to Auslan at all. And all of the homes she'd been living in, couldn't communicate with her using.
What we saw is someone who blossomed for communication. And what this home and the people in this home have done is nothing short of amazing. I guess all the professionals involved. I think she's healing she's actually healing from a trauma and whilst we do say difficult behaviours because of that healing, this is the first time in her life when she's been able to truly understand her life.
She came in on January 8. She had come from another region, she moved in no worries and she came here however, she is hearing impaired and she came in and embraced learning Auslan.
He came to us from another region, who was a young boy who was again in residential care, however, had no access to Auslan and staff who are working in that residential home we're really struggling with him.
Life in this house is like one big family.
Before dinner each night when everyone's sitting around the table, we asked each other three questions which is a community check in and those questions are; How are you feeling today? What are your goals for today? And if you need help, who can you ask?
Being deaf is not unusual in this home. And it is not difficult in this home. In this home. Being deaf is potentially easier than being hearing.
It's amazing what commitment can do for young person. What consistent staff who are willing to go the extra mile, and not just staff, I think genuine carers.
My hope is that we have shown them that adults are safe. Adults can be trusted and that adults are prepared to go that extra mile to make positive changes in their lives. I'd like to think that what the team has done here has transformed these young people's lives. And I'd like to think that we have created the stepping blocks, and the foundation for them having a really positive future.