07/08/2025
💔 A Desperate Grandmas Story: Why We’re Building Turning Point
💜 From Struggle to Strength — Because Our Kids Deserve Better
This isn’t just another youth program.
This is personal.
This is my grandson.
This is years of begging for help and getting told, “There’s nothing we can do.”
He started struggling around the age of 10 — ADHD and ODD made school near impossible.
He wasn’t a bad kid. He was a scared, misunderstood kid with no support.
He made the wrong friends and the wrong choices.
He started refusing to go to school. Suspension after suspension.
He’d sit at home angry, frustrated, and lost.
He was drinking and he was suspected of using drugs.
By the time he was 15, he’d probably only attended school 200 days over 4 years.
We knew he was slipping. We could see it happening.
So we reached out to schools. Youth services. Doctors. Counsellors. Anyone.
Every time we asked for help, we were turned away.
"There’s nothing we can do unless he gets charged."
Excuse me? You mean we have to wait for him to get a criminal record before anyone will help?
We were trying to stop him from going down that path.
But the system made it clear:
Prevention isn’t their job!
Then, the week he turned 16, our world cracked open.
He got into a stolen car with some mates. Even though he wasn't part of the theft, he knew the car was stolen before he got in.
There were weapons in the vehicle — not his, but he was there.
They did three petrol drive-offs.
There was a high-speed chase. Police helicopters. Stingers.
They hit two other cars during the chase but not hard enough to do damages, thankfully!
And then — the phone call that gutted me.
“You need to come pick him up from Midland Police Station as he's being taken into custody. If not, he’s spending the night in juvenile detention.”
It was 10:30 at night. I can’t drive in the dark.
I had to find someone willing to take me.
I should’ve let him stay there. Maybe it would’ve woken him up.
But I couldn’t. I was terrified of what that night in lockup might do to him.
They let him off with a warning.
No consequences. No accountability.
Just… a note on his record in case he does something else.
We begged Juvenile Justice for help again.
But because there were no formal charges, their hands were tied.
While I was driving him home the next day, he turned to me and said "Grandma by the time I turn 18, I will either be dead or in jail. I was heartbroken at his attitude. Thinking to myself it's not going to happen on my watch. Things needed to change.
Three days later, things exploded.
The police were back.
It had gotten so bad we had to take out a Restraining Order to protect family members.
And this time, he was charged:
Assault. Malicious Damage.
Finally — finally — services stepped in.
But it was too late for prevention.
Now we were in crisis mode.
Now the record that we tried so hard to avoid? It counted.
I still believe that underneath it all, he's a good kid and even though everyone else have wiped their hands off him, I will do my damnest to get him back on track because I love him to much to let his words "by the time I turn 18, I will either be dead or in jail" come true.
💔 It shouldn’t take a criminal charge to get a kid help.
💔 Families shouldn’t be abandoned while they’re pleading for support.
💔 No one should feel as helpless and heartbroken as I did watching my grandson spiral — and being told to wait until it gets worse.
That’s why we’re building Turning Point.
Because what happened to my grandson is happening to too many others.
Because there needs to be somewhere kids can go before they hit rock bottom.
Because if the system won’t do it — we will.
🛠 We're Calling On You
If you’ve been through it,
If your child or grandchild is struggling,
If you’ve watched someone you love disappear into a system that only acts when it’s too late.
We need you!
Come help us build Turning Point.
We’re developing a community-powered, peer-led youth prevention and diversion program — and we’re looking for people who get it.
👩💼 Volunteers Needed:
Program Designers
Youth Engagement Officers
Workshop Developers
Tutors / Learning Support
Cultural Advisors / Lived Experience Mentors
Partnership Liaisons
Admin / Grant Writers
Peer Mentors
Evaluation & Outcomes Officers
No degree needed — just heart, understanding, and lived experience.
🤝 We want to work with:
Youth Justice, CAMHS, Headspace, schools, community orgs, NDIS providers, Legal Aid, SCALES, Moorditj Koort and others as well as families just like yours. We want to get it right.
📣 Will you help us?
📧 Email: hello@invisibleillnesses.com.au
📞 Call: (08) 6140 3977
Let’s build the program we wish existed when we needed it most.
Let’s give these kids a real turning point — before it’s too late.
💜 A Grandma who’s been there.
