Patrick’s face lit up. “Nan”, he said, “They’re all just like me!” – Patrick
When Patrick came to live with me, he was just eight years old. The police had found him wandering the streets alone while his mum was off buying drugs. His dad was in prison, and there was no one else to take him in. I was 67 and had been planning my retirement, and suddenly I was raising a traumatised little boy. Patrick had experienced more trauma than most adults – and it showed. He was withdrawn, struggling with nightmares, and had fallen years behind at school. He would hide under desks, disrupt other students, and lash out in anger. I tried everything I could, but I was overwhelmed by his complex needs and began to feel isolated from friends who didn’t understand my new reality.
That’s when I found Mirabel. The team developed a plan to support both Patrick and me. Patrick joined Mirabel’s therapeutic boys’ group and began weekly tutoring, and I started attending kinship carer groups. If I ever needed support, I knew Mirabel was just one phone call away. We even went to Family Camp together – our first proper holiday. At camp, I saw something I hadn’t in a long time – Patrick laughing, just being a kid. He played in the sand and went to the beach for the first time. It was pure joy for him, and for me.
One moment that stuck with me was when Patrick came home from a session at the therapeutic boys’ group. The leaders had asked the boys to raise their hands if they didn’t live with their mum and dad. When every boy raised their hand, Patrick’s face lit up. “Nan”, he said, “They’re all just like me!” It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Now, two years on, Patrick is like a different kid. He’s doing well at school and recently received an award for helping younger students. He’s caught up on his reading and looks forward to seeing his Mirabel friends at Luna Park during the holidays. He even tells me he wants to be a teacher when he grows up. Before Mirabel, he couldn’t even imagine a future.
Mirabel has been our lifeline – I don’t know where we’d be without them.
*From his grandmother’s perspective.
