Thursday April 25th 2024.
Hi Everyone,
Yesterday marked one month since our first lady joined us here at Desert Road.
With her permission, i have sat with her today to write this with her and tell you about her journey and what it is like joining us at DR.
For privacy reasons, we will not be using her real name.
Jody is a 41-year-old indigenous Brirpi woman who was born and raised on the mid-north coast of NSW. She is number 3 out of 5 kids. Jody and her 4 siblings grew up on the mid-north coast with both mum and dad. Dad did demolition contracting, and her mum spent most of the time raising the kids.
She left school in year 9 because she struggled to do schoolwork and got involved with the wrong crowd. Due to many wrong choices, Jody was placed in a PCYC program through Juvenile Justice for 3 days a week at 14. Jody was first incarcerated at 19 years old.
Looking back at this time in her life, Jody realises and then explains to me that the main reason for this was the lack of support from her family and friends while she tried to deal with issues that caused her to make the choices she was making. Between the age of 19 and 41, Jody says was incarcerated more than 6 times, with her longest time out of prison being 4 years.
Sadly, her dad passed away in 2020.
Jody has an adult daughter with whom she has a good bond; she lives with Jody's mum, who she is also close to.
This is what Jody tells me about her last time Inside:
I was attending Kairos inside with a chaplain named Karine. I really enjoyed doing this and loved the people who came to visit us. I had told Karine that I didn't want to keep coming back to prison and that I needed to change my ways, but I found that hard when I kept going back to my old community as I had nowhere else to go. Karine told me how DR was starting and explained what it was about. I spent a week thinking about it and decided this was what I needed to do to help me become a better person and get me on the right path.
I asked Jody what she enjoys about DR and also what she finds hard:
I enjoy that I am getting a lot of help with everything I need to do, like going to appointments, keeping up with parole, seeing counsellors, doing programs, and staying healthy. I love interacting with Mel and the volunteers and going to church on Sundays. I also enjoy volunteering during the week and after church. I know this is all very important to help me through my journey and keep me on the right path.
I find it hard sometimes knowing my family is away from me, but I always call them and speak to them over the phone. I sometimes grieve for them and others, but I know I have a lot to work ahead of me to get right, and I need to do it away from my old community. I thank God every day for the support and the lovely people I have around me here.
I then asked her where does she see herself this time next year?
Definitely not in gaol! I Would like to be working and have stability to stay clean and be motivated to keep moving forward in my journey. I aim to stay in this area once I leave DR with the possibility of finding a place to live with my daughter and her partner.
I look forward to showing them this area when they come to visit me in the near future.
Jody says to say a big thank you to all the volunteers at DR and those who continue to pray for her and help in other ways.
Blessings to all,
Mel x
www.desertroad.org.au