Out of crisis, a family transformed by love
Stan Gittins, manager of the Toowoomba Men’s Crisis Accommodation and Lana Luxford of the Toowoomba Crisis Centre, outside the recently refurbished complex. (Photo courtesy of Bev Lacey, APN)
He was the absolute a stereotype of a homeless man – addicted – with a beard that was all long and matted and filthy and his hair long and filthy.
It is quite incredible to see that this man who came to us broken, empty, in an awful state of being, is so changed. And to see the love and the pride he has for his children is an absolute joy!
- Lana Luxford, The Salvation Army’s Toowoomba Crisis Accommodation
Most Sundays, as Lana Luxford, of The Salvation Army’s Toowoomba Crisis Accommodation, steps into church, two “absolutely beautiful” little girls greet her. They squeal with delight and, giggling, call out her name as they wait to find a seat next to her.
Lana says that seeing how happy and seemingly well adjusted the girls and their siblings are has not ceased to deeply move her. It was only three years ago that their father, Jack*, first arrived at the homeless men’s section of the crisis service, after “living rough” in the local park. He had lost custody of his four children, and was firmly in the grip of addiction.
“Jack first arrived with another friend in tow,” says Lana says. “Their belongings were in a garbage bag, and from memory they may have been pushing a shopping trolley and living rough. Jack had the wild woolly hairdo down around his shoulders and a big, full-faced beard.
“We put them into the single men’s accommodation. They worked with the staff [to begin to build stability] for two to three months.”
Lana says that the men’s service manager, Stan Gittins, found out some time later that Jack was relatively stable, but living in a caravan park with two of his children back in his custody. Stan was concerned for the welfare of the family, particularly because Jack was still battling addiction. A team from the centre visited and immediately organised for Jack and the two children to enter the family crisis accommodation section.
Lana says there were struggles and setbacks, but “Jack progressed beautifully with those children”.
Lana explains that Jack undertook a range of classes at the centre including learning parenting skills. He was determined to become a good father. The service youth worker also worked one-on-one with Jack to help establish routines, rosters, and behaviour charts for the children.
“We helped get Jack into the base hospital, into one of their drug and alcohol programs. He started coming to church, and the kids got involved in our holiday programs,” Lana says.
At one stage of the program, Jack relapsed and breached the service rules about drinking on the site. While Lana “hated to do it with all her heart”, she made him pack up the home and leave for a night. He was to re-present at the office before nine the next morning to discuss whether he could return to the centre. Lana laughs and says: “I think he was there by seven.”
“I asked the question – do you really want to change?” she says. “And he just looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I love my kids - yes I do’.”
Back on track, Lana says Jack ended up moving into his own rental accommodation and the service continued to work with him. Jack then gained custody of his other two children. Lana says they all seem to be thriving.
“Jack now functions really well out there in the community,” she says. “He runs his home for himself and his four children, pretty much as I would be able to do, and cooks the kids beautiful meals. I often joke with him saying, ‘why weren’t you my father?’ because when it gets to their birthdays, he has saved and saved to make the day just wonderful.
“Seeing this wild guy wandering in, I could never have imagined how it could all change in a just a few years!”
*Name changed
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