News
Dawn and Joe’s story
Thursday 27 August 2009
Dawn is aged 8 and her brother Joe is 6. Both have health problems. Their physical health is probably linked to the serious problems they faced at home.
Dawn and Joe's Dad committed a serious crime in their community and went to prison.
Both children missed a lot of school and couldn't cope with the shame of what their Dad had done. Their Mum also found it really difficult to talk about the crime so she couldn't really help Dawn and Joe.
Dawn and Joe had a number of sessions at CHILDREN 1ST, which gave them the time, space and safety to talk about what had happened.
At the beginning, Joe was very sad and lacked energy. At CHILDREN 1ST he acted out his struggle with good and evil through play, and expressed a constant desire to clean up the mess (caused by his Dad).
Joe's mum has noticed a big difference in him at home now. He is more confident and is able to talk about what his Dad has done without feeling shame about something that is not his fault.
Dawn has found it much harder to understand and deal with the traumatic effects of her Dad's crime. She was unable to express her feelings of anger, hurt and shame as she didn't have the words. Dealing with the issue through story telling has begun to help Dawn to talk about what has happened to her and how that makes her feel.
We also held a number of sessions with all the family, which helped Mum understand what the children were going through and again provided a safe place where difficult things could be said.
Despite her reluctance to talk about what has happened Mum has found the family sessions very helpful.
There is still a lot of work to do because the children's attendance at school remains poor. Work has started to bring together all the professionals involved with the family to put together a plan to improve things for the future. To help children like Dawn and Joe, please click here.
Where your money goes
Children find it hard to talk about their feelings - they just don't have the words. Using art, play and drama, helps them express their hurt, sadness and distress.
To help more children like Dawn and Joe:
- Raise £10 and we can buy art materials - through their drawings children can tell you how they feel
- Raise £18 and we can provide a storytelling session - telling stories about other children can help a child understand what is happening to them
- Raise £22 for a play therapy session - puppets, drama and play are things that children understand - we use this to help children tell their story.
Last updated: Tuesday 1 September 2009
