Throughout a person’s sentence in prison, they draw on strengths from various places to keep them going. For Amber, it was a strong determination to be a part of her children’s lives, and the journey of her discovery of her Aboriginal cultural identity.

Amber was labelled a ‘troublemaker’ at the prison as she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. However, her tough talk frequently resulted in strife with other women and prison staff, and at times she was subject to instances of behavioural management by being placed in an isolation unit. Often experiencing bouts of confusion and intense depression, Amber struggled to manage daily tasks and would withdraw from programs. The staff at the prison identified that Amber’s distress was often triggered by events that occurred in her complex relationships with family in the community.

Amber was a hesitant participant in Vacro’s family counselling program. However, in time she connected with the counsellor by sharing her art practice, and her journey of discovering her Aboriginal cultural identity.

Feeling safe and at ease with the counsellor, Amber opened up about her challenges. She lives with an acquired brain injury, has a history of complex trauma, has experienced significant family violence in a previous relationship with her children’s father, and lives with physical pain.

It’s her three primary school aged children, Jayden, Bree, and Jarrah, along with her partner Constance, who are the source of her determination to return home and succeed in the community. Paradoxically, the relationships that gave her strength, also gave her great concern.

As much as Amber looked forward to going home and being with her family, she feared “it was all just too much” to prove to them she could return to a live-in parenting role, and she doubted her ability to cope in a busy, noisy household. Amber was also distressed that her same-sex relationship was not being accepted by her partner’s family.

With the support of the specialist family counsellor, Amber came to have an awareness of the things she could focus on to make her return home smoother. Amber worked on optimising the time she had with the children via phone call and video sessions. With some coaching by the counsellor, Amber used humour and played games with her kids. In time, she became expert at listening out for their emotional needs. She participated in Vacro’s school holiday program via a video call with her children and partner, and in her own time created distinctive Aboriginal art works for them and for their school community.

In the final months of Amber’s sentence, she still had moments when she felt misunderstood and her language came across as aggressive, or her mood plummeted. However, she was accessing a range of programs, having Aboriginal specific cultural support, and had a wider range of strategies to self-manage. Leading up to her release, Amber and Constance engaged in a series of facilitated conversations with the counsellor on how to share parenting duties based on their individual strengths, repair relationships with safe family members, and provide respite for each other. With a parenting strategy in place which could be communicated with Child Protection, Amber became determined to succeed in the community and return home with Constance and the children.

In a follow up session with the counsellor post release, Amber was happy and settled, she had support around her, and the kids were thrilled to have her home.

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