CHILD PROTECTION WEEK SEPTEMBER 1ST TO 7TH SEPTEMBER Children and young people are not
invisible!
Child Protection Week
DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE HARMS.
If you are worried about a family’s wellbeing contact Family and Child Connect on 13Family, or If you are worried about the safety of a child or young person contact Child Safety Services’ Enquiries Unit on 1800 811 810
FIND OUT MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.childprotectionweek.org.au
Queensland Child Protection Week 1-7 September 2019
CHILD Protection week runs from the 1st – 7th of September and the focus of this year’s Queensland campaign is Protecting Children is everybody’s business. Child Protection Week in Queensland is coordinated by the Child Protection Week Committee under the auspicing body of ACT for Kids. In other states NAPCAN runs National Child Protection Week. This year the Tully Support Centre (TSC) is helping to raise awareness that all adults have a responsibility in keeping children safe from harm. This year the TSC is partnering with Cardwell UFO
festival committee to invite you to a morning of arts and craft at the Cardwell jetty on Sunday the 8th of September from 8:00am1:00pm. The underlying theme of this year’s event is that everyone can lend a hand by being aware, speaking up and protecting and nurturing our young people to grow into strong, compassionate and capable adults. To that end the TSC and the UFO festival committee will be creating a banner for community members to add their hands to and other fun kids’ activities. We will
also be doing face painting for $2 per turn. If you have any concerns about a child in our community you can contact the Far North Queensland Regional Child Safety Intake service on 1300 684 062. Alternatively, if you would like to make contact with your local Family and Child Connect service you can call 13FAMILY (13 32 64) and be referred to the closest office. For the complete list of key messages from this year’s campaign or for more information on this year’s Child Safety Week or information about Child Protection in our community go to www. childprotectionweek.org.au
The Tully Support Centre is funded by the Queensland Government and services communities throughout the Cassowary Coast. The Tully Support Centre is located at 54 Bryant Street in Tully, opening hours Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00am to 1:00pm & 2:00pm to 4:00pm and Wednesday 9:00am to 1:00pm & 2:00pm to 6:00pm. To register your interest or more info about groups and other services please call 4068 1004, check the Tully Support Centre online at www.tullysupportcentre. com.au or follow us on Facebook “Tully Support Centre Inc.”.
Cassowary Coast Statistics WE have around 130 kids in care who are in differing levels of intervention. About 97 of these are on orders and placed in Foster Care, with 29 placed in the home. Our largest cohorts are in 10 – 15 age of which there 51, with
39 in the 4 – 10 age group. 75 are Aboriginal or Aboriginal& Torres Strait Islander And 73 are male. Currently we have 45 foster carers on the books and need more!
Seeking help as a parent? IN 1994 I was a brand new mum who had no idea what she was doing. I was living in a regional town in Queensland with no family close by for support. There were no mummy blogs to turn to, no internet community to ask for advice. When I asked for help from my GP he told me to put the baby to sleep in a room far enough away from me so I could sleep uninterrupted because every sound my baby made woke me up, even the beautiful little snuffles babies make in their sleep. I sought support from every avenue I could think of but I could not find any programs to help new parents.
In 1999 when I was tearing my hair out with three children under six, one child with school refusal and one toddler who refused to sleep and would literally climb the curtains to the top when my back was turned I was not able to access help or support. Fast forward to 2005 when I was working for Child Safety. There were so many families I investigated to see if their children were safe who just needed the kind of help I had needed. I would call the services who could help them but the reply would be “Sorry, they don’t live in our catchment area.” Queensland has thankfully
changed their approach to keeping children safe. There are now many programs that are funded to support parents and families across the state. The government has funded Family and Child Connect (FACC) services to connect parents who need help with professionals who can assist them to access services, programs and parenting courses. There are services that work with child care providers to assist parents to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme for children who are identified as having a disability. These same services help parents with behaviour management strategies and parenting techniques.
Are you OK? SARI HYYTINEN
WHEN you lose someone you love and care about it is a difficult experience to live through. When it happens by suicide, you might ask yourself what you could do to see if you can assist with suicide prevention. In a recent Lifeline email campaign, indicated research shows that connecting with people in crisis and being there with them in their dark moments makes a life-saving difference. “Just remember it’s everyone’s business,” said Ruth Crouch. “Lifeline & the doctor of the Koch foundation run training in suicide prevention that tells you what to look for and how to respond.” Kurrimine resident, Crouch experienced suicide firsthand. Her son went missing, and this led to a nationwide search. Sadly, after three months her son was found in the mangroves behind their house in Cairns, having killed himself. This experience has led Crouch to be a strong advocate for suicide prevention. Unfortunately, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that Queensland has experienced an overall increase in suicide deaths from 2016 to 2017, with rates increasing from 13.9 to 16.3 deaths per 100,000 persons. Lifeline Australia’s most recent statistics indicate that the suicide has reached a ten-year high, which mean that just yesterday we lost eight lives to suicide, today we will lose eight more and tomorrow we will lose another eight more. Crouch has conceded that she wasn’t aware of the signs of suicide in her son and wants to ensure that others are aware of the signs. To assist, you are able to purchase pins in Innisfail from Cassowary Chiropractic, Rebel Café and Empire Café. In Tully from
Canecutters Mitre 10, Boutique Maree and the Community Centre. In Mission Beach at Bingle Bay café, Mission Beach Mini Mart and Tobacconist Wongaling Beach. If there’s a statistic to offer hope, it’s this: A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that, “Nine of out ten people who attempt suicide and survive, do not go on to complete suicide at a later date.” Learn the warning signs. If you need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14. If you are a young person who is feeling distressed visit www.headspace.org.au or www.reachout.com or ring KidsHelpline on 1800 55 1800. There is a Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
Page 8 Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, August 29, 2019
Every parent needs support at different times. If you are a parent who needs some help and/ or advice, please contact Family and Child Connect at familychildconnect.org.au or on 13 32 64.