30-year-old Julie* now lives in a beautiful 2-bedroom house with her 3-year-old, Oscar.
It’s a safe place to sleep and somewhere they can call home.
Julie’s journey has not been easy. She was determined, for Oscar’s sake, that her own experiences would not repeat themselves.
Julie grew up surrounded by family violence and substance abuse. At the age of 12, she ran away from home and stopped going to school.
Julie was taken in by a friend and her family for most of her teenage years. She worked in retail from a young age and pursued a business degree.
When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, Julie started a new relationship that sadly began to turn toxic. She also discovered she was 3 months pregnant. She tried to leave, but facing financial difficulties in addition to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, found herself returning to live with Oscar’s father.
Julie was referred to Monash Health’s Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies program by the Adolescent, Drug and Psychological Pregnancy Team when she was 18 weeks pregnant.
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies is a community-based service for pregnant women experiencing challenges that may impact the health and wellbeing of themselves, their unborn baby or their family. The team quickly links women to existing services, including child health, counselling, dental and allied health programs.
For Julie, the program provided a life-changing safety net.
‘I was trying to find a safe place for myself and my baby. I was also struggling with pre-eclampsia,’ she said.
Focused on ensuring access for those most in need, the program helped her find somewhere new to live and connected her with much-needed legal and financial support. This included vouchers for toys and clothing – all before Oscar was born.
‘My son has never had to witness yelling, screaming, or punches being thrown. He is safe from unhealthy family members.’
Whilst receiving support from Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Julie was able to see her value and begin to heal from her experiences.
‘I pray that every woman and baby in need finds their way to this opportunity,’ she says.
Julie is especially grateful for her ‘real-life fairy Godmother’ Denise. She’s talking about Outreach Community Development Worker Denise Bridges, who has worked with Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies since it began in 2009.
Denise formed a strong relationship with Julie, which enabled her to have some difficult conversations and provide the most effective support.
‘I need to point out that it was her willingness to do the hard work, to make the changes she needed to; I was only the link in the chain to point her in the right direction and refer her to appropriate services. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity every day,’ says Denise.
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies is celebrating 15 years of service. Since 2009, the program has received more than 3,600 referrals and provided vital support to pregnant women and their babies.
The program covers the local government areas of Casey, Greater Dandenong, and Cardinia, which have high birth rates, higher rates of relative socio-economic disadvantage, and lower service availability.
Congratulations to the team at Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies for reaching this milestone.
To make a referral to the program, please contact Monash Health Community Intake on 1300 342273 or Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Team Leader, Sam Hughes, on (03) 85589000.
*Julie’s name has been changed to protect her anonymity.
