Meet Kirrah...

-I'm a proud Aboriginal child

-I have two older sisters and a younger brother that live with other family

- I Love to dance and collective things like shells and feathers

- I'm a free spirit and always brings laughter to those around me

My Story...

Hi I'm Kirrah,

I wonder if your house is as busy as mine always is? Do you have family visiting all the time, sharing stories and cooking yummy food. Well mine do. You should visit sometime.

Things have been pretty hard for Kirrah since she was three months old. Her mum didn't have a safe place to live or the right supports to her care for Kirrah. So Kirrah lives with her Aunty Jess and two younger cousins Iesha and Jiemba (Jim-ba). In time, when Kirrah's mum is well she would love to go and live with her mum, but till then she loves living with her aunty.

Feelings & Themes...

Identity • Belonging • Cultural Connection • Loss

Focus: kinship care, disrupted identity, cultural safety, and grounding through connection.

A note for readers...

For children like Kirrah, coming into care is about loosing connection—it is about being separated from mob, country, and identity.

Kirrah does not have a relationship with her dad, and her mum was unable to keep her safe. As a result, Kirrah came to live with her Aunty and cousins in kinship care. While being with family matters, this transition still carries loss, confusion, and grief.

For Aboriginal children, safety is inseparable from culture, country, and connection. When these are disrupted or weakened, children can feel unanchored—unsure of who they are and where they truly belong and can have a pervasive sense of grief.

How loss of identity and belonging can feel

Children like Kirrah may experience:

Grief for parents, from mob, country, and familiar ways of living
Confusion about family roles and where they fit from a
A sense of disconnection from culture, country, or community
Shame or self-blame about why they could not stay with their parent
Feeling different from peers or caught between cultures
Longing to belong while not feeling fully “at home” anywhere

How this shows up

Loss of identity and cultural disruption may appear as:

Withdrawal or emotional shutdown
Difficulty trusting adults or authority figures
Strong emotional reactions to change or perceived rejection
Struggles with self-esteem and confidence
Challenges forming secure attachments
Behaviour that reflects uncertainty rather than defiance
Quiet sadness that often goes unnoticed

These responses are not signs of weakness.
They are signals of loss.

What helps Kirrah feel grounded and safe

Support for children like Kirrah must honour both safety and culture.

This means:

Strong, consistent relationships within kinship care
Clear explanations about why changes happened, given with honesty and care
Supporting connection to culture, Country, and community
Respecting family, cultural identity, and lived experience
Helping Kirrah build a strong sense of who she is and where she belongs
Creating spaces where questions, grief, and mixed feelings are allowed

When children feel connected to their identity, healing becomes possible.
Belonging is not something to earn—it is something to be held.