Jenny

Jenny, aged 14, until recently lived with her Dad. It was just the two of them living in a small, 2 bedroom house. Jenny deeply loves her Dad and it is clear he loves her too. Despite the great relationship they share, after Jenny's Dad lost his job and his drinking started in the morning she couldn't live with him anymore, the Department told her.

Jenny stays in a foster home now, a loving family; 3 kids, 2 parents and a dog that the family walks every night, together. The family is a bit too nuclear for Jenny's comfort but she'll admit it is nice to have some routine, even if it is, at times, too routine. Living in a home with breakfast at the table and a bed time is certainly different, she is told she'll adjust. Jenny is used to being the only of her friends at school that has the unusual family. Her friends all have a Mum and a Dad at home, whereas Jenny has always seen her Dad as both parents in one. When Jenny was little, her and her Dad would build a tent in the lounge room or eat ice cream for dinner, but not every night. When Jenny reached puberty she was more comfortable talking to her Dad about the changes than her friends were talking to their Mums. Her friends ask Jenny why she doesn't live with her Dad anymore, if he is so 'cool'.

Jenny's Dad didn't tell her when he started feeling the despair, he usually tells her everything but he didn't want to worry her about this. She's too young to have to face something like what he was going through, he would think. The drinking was only a few each night to feel better, not a problem, he would think. He had no idea it had become as bad as it was now, he thought about this for hours as he sat in an arm chair in his now empty house.

Jenny's Dad, although missing her terribly, is glad that Jenny is being looked after while he gets better. He explained this to Jenny when they met in a room with couches, a coffee table and toys and teddies surrounding them at the Department. The Department workers observed the conversation as tears roll down both faces. Jenny's Dad tells her it won't be very long at all, and she will still go to school and Netball and see her friends so not much will be different. They will still see each other, just once a week, he tells her as he gestures to the interview room designed to be warm and safe.

When Jenny and her Dad meet, Jenny tells him all about school and Netball and what she has been up to during the week and on the weekend. He will tell her he is doing better, each week he says he is doing better. Jenny wonders how many more times they need to meet like this, how much 'better' he needs to get before she can go home, but she doesn't ask. On the nights that Jenny sees her Dad at the Department she doesn't go with the family to walk the dog or eat dinner at the table. Pizza on Thursday nights, Jenny is allowed to eat in her room on her own. The family understands that she needs some time to herself on this night. The other nights, however, Jenny enjoys walking the dog, she is happy and talkative.

Jenny has made a new friend. She is a bit older which suits Jenny fine as she has always felt she enjoys hanging out with adults more anyway, at least cool ones like her Dad. In her new home the kids are young, still in Primary School and the Mum and Dad, while nice, are a bit too stuffy. So Jenny enjoys hanging with her new friend, it shakes up the dry routine a bit. Jenny didn't know what to think of her at first, she came around one night and ate with the family, Tuesday night, pie and veggies. At first Jenny thought she was from the Department, after dinner while the family walked the dog, they stayed home together and she explained that she doesn't work for the department. Instead she is just a girl at Uni who hopes to make friends with Jenny. They can hang out, she can help with homework or if Jenny ever wants to chat she can give her a call, is how the girl explained it. Jenny was a bit unsure at first, but now they get along great, she's a cool girl, Jenny thinks.

Jenny texts her new friend after school to see if she wants to hang. 'Cool, I'll come around, I'll bring that book I was telling you about,' is the reply. Jenny likes hanging with her, they do adult things like go to cafes and talk about books and boys. Sometimes she goes with Jenny to the Department to meet her Dad, Jenny prefers this than her foster Dad taking her. Other times Jenny will call her friend at night, under the doona, and they will talk for over an hour! Jenny likes that she doesn't tell her that she should be going to sleep because she has school in the morning, they don't talk too late anyway.

Everything that has happened for Jenny over the last few months has been a big change and of course a difficult thing. Jenny knows her foster family, her new friend, the Department and her Dad are all doing what they can to help her. Some nights Jenny cries when she misses her Dad or doesn't understand why things seem harder for her. But most of the time she is strong, like her Dad asks her to be, and she is happy with her foster family and new friend.