Every mother to-be desires the best for their child – and Naomi is no different. With no family to support her and her past childhood trauma she simply lacked the support and tools she needed to change her circumstances.
“At the start, he wanted the child as much as I did and was happy about the pregnancy - then something changed and he asked me to get an abortion. I was 24 weeks pregnant. I didn’t want an abortion. He got angry (again) threw his cup at the wall, spat at me and stormed out.
I had no destination in mind., I just knew I had to get out before he really hurt me and my child. I didn’t want go to the police because I’d heard horror stories of mothers in DV having their child removed at birth by Child Safety. I went to Kmart - thank god for late night shopping at kmart - and spent all of the money I had on campng gear. I drove to the next town, slept in my car over night, then went to the local showgrounds the next morning to set up camp. I felt like there was no hope for me.”
After a few months living at the showgrounds a woman who was travelling around Aus with her family befriended Naomi. Naomi eventually confided in her about her situation. The woman knew about Esthers Australia in Hobart and asked Naomi’s permission to call us. By this stage Naomi was 34 weeks pregnant and beginning to really worry for both hers and the future of her child.
“I was starting to seriously consider going back to my ex. I felt like I had no other choice.”
Long story short - this is where we became involved.. We were able to access shelter accommodation for Naomi on the Sunshine Coast, advocate for her with Child Safety, deliver one-on-one DV education and early parenting education, while working with housing services to secure permanent accomodation for her and her new baby.
Naomi gave birth to a healthy baby girl in December 2023
“My case worker and mentor from Esthers helped me with everything. Finding me somewhere to live so quickly blew me away. They taught me so much about my baby and her needs and especially the dv education. It opened my eyes - I will never forget it.”
Equipped with new skills, relevant information and a whole lota hope Naomi is doing great parenting her little girl and is so grateful for our support.