Peer Support & Advocacy Team
Members of our team include
Peer Workers, Student Social Workers, and a Service Manager.
PEER WORKERS
Our peer workers have their own experiences of child protection and out-of-home (OOHC) systems. They have had children restored to their care. They are a great bunch of people. Each has their own set of stories to tell about their experiences so they are valuable for many different parents. They care a lot about the experiences of other parents and family members and they are great listeners.

Allira
I have four amazing children. My twins have been through the system and are in kinship care. I went through a lot of domestic violence and mental health. I turned my life around. It was hard but it I did it through support and understanding the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ of my situation. Most importantly, it was me understanding me. I was lost, scared and broken. Now I’m here to support other parents and family dealing with child protection matters and their children being in care because I know first hand how that feels.

Laura
I’m a mum of three children. My two eldest kids were put into care for seven years. My youngest child was never removed. While my children were in care, I did a lot of work on my mental health and parenting skills to become the parent my kids need me to be. It is because of my experiences that I want to help and support other parents to keep bonds with their children and feel supported while going through the system. I also volunteer with a chronic illness charity.
SERVICE MANAGER

Rach
I am a mother of six children who has experienced the child protection system first hand. I have been through the system and had all my children returned to my sole care. I have seen how isolating and hard the struggle is for parents trying to better themselves and understand and fix the reasons for their children’s removal. It is now my passion to help other parents in this journey and achieve better outcomes for parents and children. As the Service Manager I can use my experiences as a parent and as a peer worker to support FISH peer workers while they work with parents and family navigating the system.
STUDENT SOCIAL WORKERS
FORMER STUDENT TEAM MEMBERS
2022: Stella Flick & Sequoia Ellis, Third Year Social Work students, University of Newcastle.
2022: Jess Parr & Kelli Shaunessy, Fourth Year Social Work students, University of Newcastle.
2023: Belle Britt & Kaylah Winterborn, Third Year Social Work students, University of Newcastle.
Our peer support and advocacy service was made possible by the