Meet Katie*, who loves cloud watching, feeding lorikeets at the zoo and being surrounded by the countryside.
Katie arrived at Go Beyond with a painting she had made for the team to say thank you for her previous breaks. One of the first things she did was thank them for remembering her birthday and Christmas, small acts of kindness that clearly meant so much to her.
The first night was difficult. Katie struggled to settle and the following morning, during a trip to the zoo, she seemed withdrawn and disengaged. Slowly, though, things began to change. She made friends with another young person and started to relax.
Then came one of those moments of pure childhood joy. Katie fed the lorikeets and was delighted when they landed on her arm and hand. She was so proud that she immediately helped her new friend experience it too.
Behind moments like these, Katie carries more than any child should have to.
She has experienced devastating loss throughout her childhood, including the deaths of both her parents and a sibling. At a young age, Katie found herself living in residential care, frightened, grieving and feeling extremely alone.
Those experiences have had a lasting impact, and Katie can sometimes struggle to regulate her emotions. Behaviours such as absconding and verbal aggression can make it difficult for her to access the positive experiences other children may take for granted.
Midway through her break, Katie became particularly distressed. It was the anniversary of her dad’s death, bringing some incredibly difficult feelings to the surface.
One day, when everything became too much, Katie sought some quiet away from the house. A Go Beyond Break Leader joined her on the hillside and simply sat with her. As they sat together, Katie began talking about her dad.
She remembered how they used to lie together on the grass, looking up at the clouds and imagining the different shapes they could see. She explained that this was one of the reasons she loved coming to Go Beyond. Here, she could lie back in the peace and quiet, look up at the huge expanse of sky and remember those happy moments with her dad.
For Katie, Go Beyond is somewhere she can feel calmer and safer. Somewhere she can find precious moments of belonging and escape.
Throughout the week, the team gave Katie the time, space and emotional support she needed, alongside happier memories to take home with her. Perhaps most importantly, they showed her that difficult moments did not mean she would be rejected.
Katie admitted that she had expected to be sent home every day because, in her words, most people don’t “get her”. Instead, the team reminded her that she was just as deserving of a break, friendship and happiness as any other child.
Katie’s story is a powerful reminder that behind behaviour others may find difficult is a young person who deserves to be understood. With patience, compassion and the opportunity to simply be a child, young people like Katie can begin to feel safe, experience joy and believe that positive things are possible again.
Every child deserves the chance to feel safe, understood and free to simply be a child.
With your support, we can give more children like Katie the opportunity to experience moments of joy, friendship and belonging on a Go Beyond break.
Help create more moments that matter. Support Go Beyond today.
*Katie’s name and some details of her story have been changed to protect her identity.
