Parents band together, tackle stigma of asking for help
WHEN her car started playing up, Ipswich mum Kerri Morris knew she could count on her friends to ensure her four children got to and from school.
Sure enough, finding help was easy, leaving Kerri free to focus on her car repairs, without having to worry about school trips.
That's the nature of a group of parents who banded together to help each other out and turn to for support.
Kerri said the small group of parents with children at Bremer State High School formed four years ago when they met at the school.
"Five of us had kids starting prep at the same time," Kerri said.
"We were standing next to each other waiting for our kids to come out (of class) and a couple of us were reading. We got talking about books and authors."
It didn't take long for the group to form, with parents helping each other with school pick ups, emotional support and more.
"Someone in the group, her mum is sick and has heart issues, so when we're waiting at the school to pick up our kids and she gets a phone call saying her mum has gone down, she literally runs," Kerri said.
"She knows she doesn't have to say anything because she knows I will pick up her son."
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Kerri said those in the group would have been worse off it they hadn't found one another.
"It is a lot less stressful because I know I have that support," she said.
On Wednesday, Bremer State High School Principal Ross McNichol launched a program to support parents and encourage a culture of assistance at the school.
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The Queensland Family and Child Commission's Talking Families program aims to help normalise the idea of parents asking for support.
The program works by encouraging parents to connect with school staff, each other, and the broader community so that they aren't raising kids alone.
Ross said it was part of the school's culture to be a place where parents feel safe and
celebrated.
"It's a place where we can face our challenges together and Talking Families will
be the initiative we use to share that with our growing school community," he said.
BSHS is the first high school in Ipswich to take on the program.
Read more news by Ebony Graveur.
