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The Secret Everyone Should Know About Contents The secret everyone should know about Contents A special thank you to Sharing our secret . .4 Jan and Ray, members of Sharing Wattle Place with other the Wattle Place Consultative Forgotten Australians. .4 Forum. This booklet would not Why everyone needs to know exist if it weren’t for them. about Wattle Place ��������������������������������������������������������������4 Our hopes for this booklet ������������������������������������������������4 So, let’s tell you about Wattle Place! ����������������������������6 Wattle Place provides the following services ��������������6 Support Specific to our needs . .7 What makes Wattle Place special? ��������������������������������8 Federal Apology to Forgotten Australians . .10 Why do many Forgotten Australians need a service like Wattle Place?. 12 History of Wattle Place Our reality ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12 Wattle Place was established following Wattle Place, Relationships The trauma stays with us . 12 the Apology to Forgotten Australians Australia NSW, acknowledges and Former Child Migrants, by then the traditional custodians of Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, the land and waters on which What are some challenges we face day to day? ������ 14 on 16 November 2009. A transcript of we live and work, and pays that Apology is included on pages 10 our respects to Elders past, How can the wider community and 11 of this booklet. present and future. help Forgotten Australians? ������������������������������������������ 16 Linda Burney MP, the former New How to contact Wattle Place. 18 South Wales Minister for Community Services, opened Wattle Place in Additional Information and support services. 18 March 2011. She acknowledged the suffering experienced by the Forgotten Crisis numbers �������������������������������������������������������������������� 18 Australians and the role Wattle Place could play in the process of healing Further Reading ���������������������������������������������������������������� 19 by sensitively considering their fears, needs and concerns. 2 3 Sharing our Secret We are Forgotten Australians Sharing Wattle Place with will learn about a part of Australia’s Our hopes for this booklet and we’d like to tell you other Forgotten Australians history that has been largely kept We have three goals in making a secret. We want everyone to about Wattle Place. Wattle Place is a safe haven for this booklet. First of all, to inform us, but there are many Forgotten know that history, because ending • healthcare staff “Forgotten Australians” is the Australians who don’t know about the secrecy ends the shame. official term given to those who, it. We want to get the word out As the name suggests, “Forgotten • aged care staff as children, were separated from about Wattle Place, so that more Australians” have felt forgotten • service providers their parents and placed in foster Forgotten Australians can benefit throughout our lives. We were homes, orphanages, children’s from it. Wattle Place provides a hidden away and forgotten when • workers in government homes and other institutions, community of people who share we were children, our experiences departments before 1990. Some of us prefer the experience of being placed were ignored and forgotten once • the general community other terms including “care leavers” in institutions or foster homes as we left the institutions or foster or “former state wards”. The term children. We know how isolating homes, and we were expected to about what we experienced each of us use and identify with and challenging life can be when just forget our experiences and get during our time in institutions is a personal choice, and none of you feel like no one understands on with our lives afterwards. Even and foster homes and how these will be suitable for everyone. what you’ve been through, or what now, after inquiries and apologies, that negatively impacts our interactions with you now. Some members of the Stolen you’re going through now. Wattle that part of Australia’s history, Generations and Former Child Place staff do understand, they along with our experiences, seem to Secondly, to help share the Migrants were also placed in listen and they know how to help. have been largely forgotten by the collective secrets we hold, and institutions or foster homes, and wider community. Unfortunately, we generate more understanding, therefore share similar childhood Why everyone needs to can never forget our experiences more discussion, and highlight the experiences, and similar impacts in know about Wattle Place because receiving that kind of positive difference other people adulthood, to Forgotten Australians. We also want the wider community treatment as a child leaves physical can easily make to our lives. to know about Wattle Place. Many of and psychological scars that Thirdly, to invite Forgotten us hold the stories of our own past continue to impact us every day. as secrets. We find our individual Australians who don’t know about We want the wider community stories very difficult to discuss, Wattle Place, to get in touch and to know and understand what but Wattle Place can safely share see if Wattle Place can assist you. happened to us because we don’t what we, as a group, experienced. want to be “Forgotten” anymore. When people know about Wattle Place and the work they do, they 4 5 So, let’s tell you about Wattle Place! Those of us who were in NSW Wattle Place provides a warm, Wattle Place is part of Wattle Place provides the institutions and foster homes are friendly and relaxed environment Relationships Australia following services: also eligible for a contribution to get together with others NSW and provides services • Face to face and towards the costs of some services who understand what we’ve specifically to support: telephone counselling that support our wellbeing, such experienced, participate in • Forgotten Australians – that as medical, dental, optical, etc. enriching activities, or just hang out • Assistance with information is, people who experienced and chat with our “pet” cat, Wattle. and referrals to other services In addition, Wattle Place provides institutional or foster care separate support services for They offer culturally sensitive as children, before 1990 • Access to Institutional people considering applying for support and the opportunity to and personal records • Members of the Stolen Redress under the National Redress speak with Aboriginal counsellors, Generations and Former Child • Family tracing Scheme, and people who were if you’d prefer. Wattle Place also Migrants who were also placed • Therapeutic Casework impacted by past forced adoptions. offers a number of the services in institutions or foster homes over the phone, online and through All these services are free and • Social activities and coordination with other services. • Anyone 26 years or older who commemorative events do not require a referral. was placed in out-of-home You may have never identified care in NSW after 1990 • The Drop-in centre Support specific to our needs as a Forgotten Australian, or • Group workshops Wattle Place has around 20 staff known of the existence of the who specialise in supporting people term, but if you were placed in • A quarterly newsletter with childhood experiences of institutions or foster homes when institutional and foster care. They you were a child, you are eligible understand the ongoing impacts for support from Wattle Place. that those experiences can continue If you feel that you need some to have throughout life, and provide support, we encourage you to non-judgmental, compassionate contact Wattle Place to see if and empathetic support. The staff it is the right service for you. are strong advocates for us and are here to help us navigate life. 6 7 What makes Wattle Place special? A place to belong Wattle Place provides an They know the importance of trust gain new skills, experience The sense of belonging that Wattle opportunity to be around others Wattle Place staff are dedicated new things and develop Place creates is invaluable to us, who have a shared experience. to helping us and work to earn our connections and friendships. but Wattle Place does so much trust slowly through compassion, more. Wattle Place provides social We have choices honesty and reliability. They recognise our strengths connections and the opportunity We are given choice over our Although we share a common to be a part of a community where involvement at Wattle Place. They support our search for answers bond, each of our experiences we feel we are among friends and This is important to us, as the Finding records of our identity, our were different, and each of our we belong. Knowing that we have powerlessness we felt in our family or our time in out-of-home responses and coping mechanisms somewhere to go for support when childhood was very traumatic. care can be incredibly significant are different. Despite what we went we need it, provides a sense of for us, but can have both positive through in our childhood, many security and increased confidence We are respected and negative effects. Wattle Place of us have survived. Even though, in facing some of our challenges. Wattle Place staff understand not only help us find our records, for many of us, that survival has what we struggle with and but also provide support, when we its challenges, we continue to We are believed show us respect and kindness. need it, to deal with what we find. battle through. Wattle Place staff The staff at Wattle Place This is not always the case out recognise and acknowledge that. are aware of the history and in the wider community We have fun and form friendships continuing impacts on Forgotten The group work and the social Australians. It is liberating to be activities offered by Wattle able to confide in someone (if we Place provide fun and varied choose to) and to be believed. ways to explore our creativity, 8 9 Motion of apology to the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants We come together today to deal with an ugly chapter in our nation’s history.
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