“Wellsprings feels like home and ye changed my life. I am the mother I am today because of ye”
I was in and out of care all of my life, going into fulltime residential care at age seven with my sisters and brother. Life was horrible there. I spent some time in foster care. I really did not like it at all, I was not used to the whole family situation.
At 15, my aftercare worker spoke to me about my options and Wellsprings was mentioned and a referral letter was sent off. I went to see Wellsprings; I met the staff who showed me around. I loved it. I remember the first day I came to stay I was allowed to bring my brother and sisters and we had a little party with cake and everything…I couldn’t believe it….it felt like home straight away…I loved it . When I started going back to my mother’s to stay, the staff continued to ring me and invite me down for baths and food and of course the mint choc ice cream. I was in contact all that time with Wellsprings.
Looking ahead
I now have my own children and Wellsprings were really supportive in helping me with my first 3 children setting up playschools helping me bring them with a staff member being my birthing partner on my 4th child. They helped so much. They still ask about him. Wellsprings helped me to get counselling and still help me. I was the mother of 5 children at the time and I needed help to be a mother. I stopped and started with counselling but I’m still there today.
Wellsprings feels like home and ye changed my life. I am the mother I am today because of ye. I have had no social workers in my life and that is because of Wellsprings. I’m now making the right decisions instead of the wrong ones. I have learned to deal with the past in counselling. I was always treated as the delicate one in my family. Now I am the strong one.