One of the highlights for the Freedom Survivor School this year was the establishment of a Freedom Hub Mothers Group. We run this group weekly, with our mothers taking turns to host the group at their homes.
Why host Mother’s Group in their homes?
Hosting Mothers Group at survivor homes ensures our mothers and their children feel safe within a familiar home environment. The children are free to socialise, engage and roam within a safeguarded and child-friendly environment. Providing the opportunity and ability for our mothers to host the group within their homes each week breeds a sense of pride and purpose while enhancing confidence, utilising social skills, and building on language development.
Learning to socialise
Socialising is something many of our survivors struggle with. It is further compounded by the pandemic as many have experienced and begun to work through the aftermath of re-traumatisation. As a direct result of new and historical trauma, many survivors lack quality socialisation and connection to others, meaning the children of our survivors also often have limited to no contact with anyone outside their family unit and lack quality socialisation.
One survivor, whose story I’m going to touch on, hadn’t had the courage to leave her home post-partum. Her baby, then eight months old, hadn’t seen nor met another human, having only spent time at home and around mum and dad. With the establishment of the Freedom Hub Mothers Group, this survivor began attending each week, conversing with the other mothers, and socialising her child for the first time. As she attended each week and engaged in activities, she saw her child hitting new developmental milestones, having previously remained developmentally behind. Our survivor was thrilled to share the news with the group that her baby had taken their first steps and begun walking.
The courage to go out on her own
As her courage and curiosity grew, their world grew, and both mum and baby began exploring Sydney and spending more time engaging in activities outside the home. As a result, her child has since been socialising with other mothers, children, and babies and engaging in fun, age-appropriate activities. Further, as our survivor practiced her English, grew her confidence, built courage, and established a robust set of social skills, she decided to reengage with her studies. This journey later saw her gain qualifications and experience in cosmetic tattooing and open her own business. She now offers free sessions to other Freedom Hub survivors as an act of giving back. It has been a joy to watch her and her child journey from a life of surviving to a life where they are both genuinely thriving.
Make a Difference
End-of-Year Giving – buy any end-of-year gifts from our shop with the security that 100% of the profits will support survivors of slavery in our survivor school.
The Freedom Fair – Meet ethical vendors on 3 December who are fighting modern-day slavery in their supply chains. Find out more here.
Join our Community
We have local volunteer teams that are always looking for new members, contact us here.
We issue monthly updates with events and action items, opt-in here.
If you would like to support a survivor, donate here. (tax-deductible)