Amber's Story

You could see it on their faces - that moment of understanding. Another residential house.

“The caseworker just dropped them off and drove away. By the time I got to the door, all I could see were her taillights disappearing down the road.
These two teenage boys had been told they were going to their Aunt's house. And then they realised where they actually were. You could see it on their faces - that moment of understanding. Another residential house. They were terrified.

Their Granddad had come forward pretty quickly. He lived a few hours away, near their mum and dad and said he could take them. All the assessments came back safe. But the caseworker wouldn't transport them. She wouldn't let me do it either. Mostly she just didn't respond when I tried to reach out. When I did get through to her, she'd say they were safe where they were, and that they were working on transport.

At the same time, there was a serious family feud happening. Where the residential house was, was only a few blocks from the middle of it. For weeks, I couldn't get the boys to go outside at all.

Some family members had found out where the boys were living and turned up at the door with a machete. After that, the boys started keeping machetes and kitchen knives in the house, on their person, just to feel safe.

They then met a teenager with gang connections. The gang offered them protection - real protection, the kind that felt like the only kind available to them. In exchange, they wanted the boys to rob houses in the community. These kids were so frightened, they felt like they had no choice.

I told the caseworker everything. Every single thing.

Then the police knocked on our door with a search warrant. They found stolen jewellery under one of the beds. Both boys were arrested. They spent about three weeks in juvenile detention. When they were released, they were placed with an Aunt - the same Aunt the caseworker had previously said wasn't safe.

A few months later, one of them knocked on my door. I almost didn't recognise him. He'd lost about 40 kilos. He just looked so gaunt. He gave me the biggest hug, told me his Aunt had kicked him out, that he was homeless now - and then he ran off with his friends.

I think about those boys all the time. They have criminal records now. They've been inside. Why couldn’t the system get two frightened kids to a safe family member who was already there, already willing, already waiting.”

Amber’s story – a residential care worker of five years (all names changed to protect privacy).

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