New people at Tuart Place

Counsellor Sarah Regan is the most recent member the Tuart Place team, joining us in early 2018.

Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree in Counselling and is currently completing a Master in Philosophy at Notre Dame University. Sarah has over 10 years’ experience working in the areas of aged care and community services, in a range of agency settings. She is an experienced counsellor, with a warm and friendly manner, who takes a client-centered, trauma-informed approach to her work.

If you would like to book an appointment with Sarah, or find out more about how Tuart Place can support you, please call Vicky or Natalie in Reception.

Amaleed Al-Maliki is a new Student Social Worker at Tuart Place, and will be with us until the end of June 2019.

Amaleed is currently in her third year of a Social Work degree at Curtin University and is participating in her first fieldwork placement. Amaleed has always had a passion for helping others and making a difference in people’s lives. She has been in the community services sector for several years, working as a Disability and Mental Health Support Worker.

Last January, Amaleed volunteered in South Africa at an early learning centre to help disadvantaged children – some of whom were in out-of-home care. Amaleed enjoys meeting new people and learning new things. She also enjoys cooking, watching movies and spending time with family and friends. Counsellor Sarah Regan with Student Social Worker Amaleed Al-Maliki

Dale Lynch - finding family

Imagine tracing your family, only to find out you already know them.

Dale Lynch has had the extraordinary experience of finding a family member he had known for six years, living in the same country town, both unaware that they are first cousins. Dale has also discovered that his Aunt Elsie, 97, also lives in Busselton.

Dale’s childhood in out-of-home care included many different institutions and an extremely abusive foster care situation. His mother and father passed away not long after he met them, before Dale found out much about his family background. Dale writes: “I was raised in care and did not connect with my biological family until I was in my early 20s. Initially I met my mother and two ofmy sisters, who told me I had six sisters, two brothers and a father. They also told me they (the family) had not stopped searching for me since I was placed in St Vincent’s Foundling Home as a toddler. It was great to finally have a family and a sense of belonging, which grew stronger as I met more members ofmy immediate family”.

In 2016, Dale began travelling up from Busselton each month to meet with historian Dr Lesley Silvester at Tuart Place, seeking information about his wider family. Lesley is a family tracing expert with the WA Genealogical Society (WAGS) and volunteers her time at Tuart Place on the third Monday of each month. Dale writes: “What an amazingly talented lady Lesley is. In thelastcoupleofyears, shehastaken meon a marvellous journeythrough the historyofmyEuropean ancestors, so far going back six generations, across six countries - with everything being verified with various documents. I have learnt of a great, great granddad who was a merchant seaman from Wales anda great, greatgrandmotherwho was a convict from Cornwall. These are just two of the stories I now know”. Encouraged by Lesley’s work, Dale sought out living relatives through Facebook, and before long was contacted by someone called Julie in Victoria, who recognised the Lynch family name. It was through Julie that Dale learned of his grandmother, Elsie, who is 97 years old and lives in Busselton, Dale’s home town. Even more incredibly, Elsie’s son Douglas – Dale’s first cousin – also lives in Busselton and was already known to Dale, with Doug’s wife Margaret being the Treasurer of the Busselton Collectors Club, of which Dale is Secretary. Dale writes: