When my Dad went to prison, I didn’t know what to think.
I wasn’t sure if I was angry, sad, or scared. But I did know I felt confused.
Sometimes I even felt embarrassed if the other kids asked me where my Dad had gone.
I only told my closest friends where he really was.
Everything changed when Dad left.
The sun still shone in the day, but I didn’t feel its warmth.
The stars still twinkled in the night, but not for me.
I missed my Dad.
I worried about what it was like for him in there. So the next time he called, I asked him lots and lots of questions.
Dad says he gets up and brushes his teeth in the morning just like me (when I remember). He even has the same thing for breakfast as I do—toast and cereal!
My Dad wears shorts and a t-shirt. I wear shorts and a t-shirt.
My Dad goes to classes and learns. I go to classes and learn.
My Dad does exercise. I play and run.
He enjoys being useful and doing new things.
It helps him.
My Dad even has a job in prison.
And just like me, Dad said he also has sad days when he feels like the sun doesn’t shine, and the stars don’t twinkle. He said it feels like his heart is as heavy as bricks.
Dad said there are lots of Mums and Dads in prison, missing their kids, and lots of kids just like me having a tough time.
But he said we have a strong bond, like superglue, and it sticks us together no matter how far apart we are.
It’s a bond in our hearts.
Sometimes when I feel sad, I find out that Dad was feeling the same way at exactly the same time! We’re connected to each other, even though we’re apart.
Dad told me that when I feel angry, sad, or scared, to take some time out just for me.
He said that on those days when I feel all those big feelings, I am to put my hand on my heart and take a big deep breath in...
so my chest puffs out, and moves my hand. And again. Big breath in...
And as I breathe in, I say in my quiet voice:
I am happy, and I fill my heart with happiness.
I am healthy, and I fill my heart with healthiness.
I am loved, and I fill my heart with love.
As I breathe out, I say:
Out you go, sad.
Out you go, angry.
Out you go, scared.
Whenever we miss one another, we can go outside on a sunny day and feel the warmth of the sun on our skin.
It reminds us that the sun still shines in our hearts for each other, no matter how far apart we are.
This book is a joint initiative between SHINE for Kids, Serco, and Green Fox Studio.
Serco aims to reduce reoffending by delivering a range of rehabilitation initiatives which support the successful reintegration of people back into the community.
One way we do this is by strengthening connections to children and family who play an integral role in the rehabilitation and reintegration process.
This project provides a resource to support children through the unique challenge of separation from parents who are in custody.
SHINE for Kids is the only national charity supporting children with a parent in prison and operate in communities and Correctional Centres.
We have over 40 years of experience working with children, young people and families caught in the justice system. Our innovative programs and service delivery help them build resilience and stay connected. We are passionate about transforming lives and helping break cycles of disadvantage.
Green Fox Studio is an award winning, full-service creative agency and social enterprise operating Australia’s first not-for-profit graphic design training studios inside prisons, detention centres and in the community, since 2018.
We employ staff with lived experience in the custodial system, who work as creative professionals and as trainers in our training studios, to support and be a vision of hope for those seeking to build pathways out of disadvantage.
We'd like to thank leading social worker and 2023 AASW Social Worker of the Year recipient, Mary Jo McVeigh OAM, for her professional guidance and contribution to the structure of this book.
This book was self-initiated and written by incarcerated fathers in Clarence Correctional Centre, located in Grafton NSW, operated by Serco. The book is for their children, and for the thousands of other children affected by parental incarceration every year, to whom they collectively send their comfort, love, and support.
It's also for Levi, from your Mum, Katie. You are beautiful, smart, and kind, and I'm so proud of you I want to sing it from the rooftops. I'm so grateful to have such a beautiful boy, and you'll always have a home with me, and all of my love, forever and ever.
