We have Launched -Support for Mums and their Families Inc.

We have launched.
Support for Mums and their Families Inc. held our official launch on May 2^nd at The Windsor Hotel In Melbourne.

It was a great night and looking around the room and seeing all the smiling faces I can assume a great night was had by everyone.

There are people to thank for contributing to such a great night.
The board
-Amanda Cox, Stacey Price,Jodie Thompson, Michelle Wright, Emma McIntyre, Amanda Mathison, Karen Tancin, and Robyn Amott.  These ladies spent hours collecting donations and communicating with sponsors to ensure we had some great items to be auctioned.  Thank you Robyn for co-ordinating the auction, and volunteering many many hours.

Pictured above - Support for mums staff and board members.
Left to right - Eryka Rhodes, Emma McIntyre, Karen Tancin, Nicole Calvert, Amanda Cox, Joanne Kosylo, Michelle Wright, Jodie Thompson, Stacey Price, Amanda Mathison.
(not pictured - Robyn Amott and Kirsty Rosman) 

Thank you to Carolyn for managing the night and ensuing everything ran smoothly.

Thank you to Karen Tancin who organised the Roaming performers for the night.  You all looked amazing.  

Thank you to Naked Cup cake bar for the delicious cupcakes.  Our logo looks amazing on a cupcake.  www.thenakedcupcakebar.com.au











Thank you to Bev Killick.  You have the talent and natural ability to make people smile.  A wonderful talent to have. 





Thank you to Danny for auctioning on the night. 


A huge thank you to our band for creating an amazing atmosphere.

Thank you All about love Photography
www.facebook.com/pages/Allaboutlovephotography for capturing some amazing photographs for everyone to remember the night.

Thank you to gosh creative for designing our incredible invitation for the night.  www.goshcreative.com.au

Our sponsers, thank you so very much for your kind donations. We managed to raise over $5000 which will go towards supporting families in circumstantial crisis.

Kidnapped, I'm so lucky

It was a Tuesday and I was in Grade 1. I was 6 years old and  I had my swimming bag with me.  I was walking home from school with a friend and we’d made it to the top of our street when a car pulled over.

A man in a blue singlet opened the passenger door and asked us to get in. 

He said ‘your mum told me to pick you up.’ I remember feeling reluctant, but my girlfriend jumped in, so I did too.  I remember he was naked from the waist down and was masturbating with a white towel.  I remember feeling embarrassed, nervous and knew something was wrong. 

He drove away from our house.  He said he needed to get something at the shop before dropping us off.

He drove past our street.  He asked many questions about our bodies, it felt wrong.  He stopped at the local milk bar and gave me 50c and asked me to buy him some matches.  I went inside the milk bar and purchased matches, when I came out he was gone.

He was gone with my friend.

I stood and cried.

An elderly lady came up to me and I briefly told her the story.  She walked me home and then had the horrible time of telling my mum what had happened.  My mum then had to ring my friend’s parents and tell them their daughter was still missing.

The police were called and all I can remember is waiting for my girlfriend to come home.  It was dark and I was eating fish and chips. 

She did come home that night.  The police found her several suburbs away.  She’d had a terrible experience and had been sexually assaulted by our kidnapper. 

These memories are very vivid in my memory from 30 years ago.  I will never take for granted how lucky I am.  How lucky I am that I got in the car second so that I could get out of the car first at the milk bar.  I will always have guilt about my friend.  She endured something so that I didn’t. 

Soon after this the ‘Safety House’ campaign started; the safe houses in our community that children could go to if they felt threatened or intimidated on the way home from school.

No one drove to school then, everyone walked.  Has society changed so much that we don’t trust anyone anymore?

I’m sharing my story to raise awareness. For others to know that there are terrible people out there. 

I don’t think it’s the answer to completely shelter our children from the general community as we will not be there forever to protect them.

Teaching our children the reality of our cruel world (to suit their age) teaching our children to be aware of their surroundings.  To trust their ‘gut’, to listen to their feelings when something doesn’t feel right.

We need to teach our children to be aware of others behaviours and if they feel uncomfortable, listen to that feeling and act on it.  Leave the situation. 

Teaching our children to be strong, confident and to be aware of their surroundings at all times may save them one day.

I was lucky. Many people are going missing everyday and some will never be found. 

My thoughts are with the many families of those still missing.

         

Guess who else is coming to the Launch?

So excited to give away two tickets.

Thanks to

Fiona Redding of Vivacity Consulting. www.vivacityconsulting.com.au
and

Carol Brunswick of Abdomend in Australia, pregnancy + C- Section Support www.abdomend.com.au

for purchasing tickets to allow someone else to attend

The two lucky people are

Biz Yourself 

and

JLH Bookkeeping - Jennifer Hathaway

(please send me an email to confirm names. joanne@supportformums.com.au)

You will have an amazing night at our official Launch.
Can not wait to meet you both.

There is an amazing list of donated goods to be auctioned, we have a five piece live band, roving performers, our MC for the night is Bev Killick, hilarious comedian.  All food and drinks included.

For those who missed out on this great giveaway you still have time to purchase tickets.  We do need to confirm numbers on Monday so please purchase them today.

Follow the link to purchase

http://supportformums.eventbrite.com.au/

Thanks

Jo

FREE tickets to the Support for Mums Launch

We are very excited to be able to offer TWO FREE tickets

to the Support for mums and their Families Inc. official launch on

Thursday 2nd May at The Windsor Hotel in Melbourne

These tickets have been generously donated by these amazing businesses: 

1. Abdomend in Australia Pregnancy and C-Section Support

www.abdomend.com.au

www.facebook.com/pages/Abdomend-in-Australia-C-Section-Recovery-Kits

2. Vivacity Consulting

www.vivacityconsulting.com.au

www.facebook.com/VivacityConsultingHub

We are extremely grateful for the support of organisations such as these.

It also means you have an opportunity to come along to the Launch, which isn’t just to formally launch Support For Mums and Their Families Inc, but will be a night of entertainment and fun. We have an amazing 5 piece live band and roving performers to keep us entertained and the hilariously funny comedian Bev Killick will be MCing the night and keeping us all on track. There will also be some amazing items up for auction.  Both a live auction and silent auctions will be happening on over thirty items including; ·      Glass dinnerware (valued at over $700) ·      B&B for two ·      Gorgeous jewellery ·      family Zoo Membership, Pilates voucher, 2 nights ·      accommodation atPhillip Island ·       and a massage and gym membership ·      Lots more! There will be a cup cake bar for your dessert satisfaction, which has been kindly donated by www.thenakedcupcakebar.com.au For a chance to be at this amazing night just leave a comment below telling us why it is you want to come. Two names will be selected using  www.random.org on Friday at 8pm Good luck, and looking forward to meeting you there. Jo Kosylo Support for Mums and their Families Inc.

Coping with Grief

Recently I have had many grieving people around me.  Referrals through Support for Mums and their Families Inc. and also personally.

Grief does not just relate to death.  People can also grieve; loss of a relationship, loss of a job, loss of lifestyle or even change in lifestyle such as having a baby.  I experienced a huge amount of grief with my first pregnancy.  Grief may also be experienced after having a child diagnosed with a disability, loss of limb, or loss of property.

Grief is a very personal thing and people express their grief in different ways although there is a 'cycle of grief' that a majority of people will experience.  Some will take years to complete the cycle, others may begin to accept the loss sooner.  It's when individuals become 'stuck' at a stage of grief that may require professional intervention.

The five stages,

Shock - Peoples first reaction is usually shock, total disbelief. People can feel numb, withdrawn, detached.  Many people will often experience complex feelings of anger, guilt, emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness.

Denial - When the shock wears off, many people go through the stage of denial. During this stage they cannot not accept the reality of the loss.  People will often find themselves talking aloud to the person they have lost.  People will often try to deny the loss has occurred.

Anger and Guilt - It is very common to feel anger and sometimes guilt together.  Asking, why me? It is common to wish to find blame either in ourselves, in others or even in the person who has died or the person they feel has placed them in this position.  This can lead to strong feelings of anger and guilt.

Depression - After recognising the true extent of the loss, some individuals may experience depressive systems. Sleep and appetite disturbance, lack of energy and concentration, crying, feelings of loneliness, emptiness, isolation and self pity.  For many this phase must be experienced in order to accept the loss.

Acceptance - Eventually people will pass through the stage of depression and begin to accept their loss.  The pain begins to ease.  This can take up to a year or longer.

Factors that may hinder the healing process include avoidance or minimisation of one's emotions, use of alcohol or drugs to self -medicate or use of work (over functional work place) to avoid feelings.

There is no automatic or quick answer to grief although it helps to express the feelings that consume us.  Finding a good listener who is not afraid to talk about your loss is so important.  Many people feel they should not talk about the loss you are experiencing because they feel it will upset you more.  The truth is the opposite, a person who is grieving needs to talk about their loss.  Confide in a trusted individual, tell the story of your loss.

So please when you are grieving, accept support from others. Ask for help if you need it. Support may include practical support such as meals, shopping, or child care.
Acknowledge and accept all feelings, both positive and negative, Crying is OK, it offers a release.  Sometimes it may help to keep a journal to document your healing process.

If at anytime you feel your healing process becomes too overwhelming, seek professional support.
Your family GP is a great contact and should be advised of your situation.  They will be able to provide referrals if needed.

Support for Mums and their Families Inc are also able to provide practical support, information and referral.
It's OK to ask for and accept support.

Grief comes in all shapes and sizes and effects everyone differently.

Jo ox

joanne@supportformums.com.au