Ingram Family

Ingram Family

Australia Day, 1994, sitting by the pool with our 3 three sons, Jesse 9, Sam 7 and Josh 3, reading the local paper I came across an ad for host families for Interchange Outer East. I mentioned it to Mark as something that we could do, our family was complete, and we were well settled in The Basin. That’s where it all began, Mark was working as a motor mechanic, I was a stay at home mum, doing the occasional ironing for spare cash. We contacted IOE and got the ball rolling, interviews, information sessions and then of course looking at potential children. When we saw Daniel 4, we knew that he was the one. He would fit into our family perfectly and have some great mates in our sons. Our instincts were right, it was a great match, and the boys became great mates.

Having 3 boys, our weekends were taken up with basketball and football, so Dan came along to the games and joined in with the family time. The remainder of the weekend would be spent playing - inside, outside, riding bikes, building projects, creating plays, making music with The Band, Dan liked playing the drums and generally doing kid things. Dan loved to play with action figures, guns and was always interested in being in the FBI. A lot of the building projects were to make guns, and there was always a lot of planning to catch the ‘bad guys’.

That was the beginning of our involvement with Interchange. In 2001 Mark decided on a career change and applied to join the team at Balance, started in 2002 and is currently working with Link in Bayswater, I worked with Balance from 2003 to 2008. Sam started to volunteer with IOE in 2002, and Josh in 2005. Both boys loved volunteering, loved working with the kids and made lots of great mates. On camp there were the pranks they got up to, the games when the kids were safely tucked up in bed and of course the romances. The girlfriends (one now a fiancé) of both boys are also Interchange volunteers.

Over the 16 years that we have known Dan and his family their situation has changed a few times but his monthly weekend visits have continued. When Dan was living in Altona, he used taxis for transport to and from the Basin and when living in Naroopna and Shepparton, the regional Interchanges provided transport for him. Dan has also stayed with us in emergency situations eg. when his mum had her appendix out urgently. In 2008 a share care arrangement was set up with Dan and our families through Yooralla, Dan now stays with us every second week. He attends Box Hill Tafe 3 days a week and Waverley Industries twice a week, travelling independently and showing great responsibility. His interests include music, Wii, computer games, having a laugh (he has always had a great sense of humour) hanging out with the boys as much as he can and of course girls. There is always a different girl ringing him, but we are not surprised as he is a very handsome young man!

When the arrangement with Dan and his family changed it meant that we were no longer volunteering with IOE. Volunteering means a lot to us, giving back to the community, supporting families through what can be difficult times, sharing happy times too, we have been to Dan’s brothers and sisters wedding, and giving them the opportunity to have time to catch their breath which can be hard when you have a child with a disability. So, we thought, why not it do again. A close family member is fostering a boy with cerebral palsy, Jason. Jason is 4 years old going on 40. He is a bright, happy boy who for as long as we have known him (all his life) has been determined and inquisitive. Last year we started to host Jason. He comes to us once a month, loves our two dogs, Ruby and Jex, has a special bond with our eldest son Jesse, and generally keeps us busy and entertained. Like any other boy, he loves playing with his cars, watching Dora and reading Mr Men books. Jason starts at his local main stream school this year and we are all sure that he will do well. His foster mum has said that she is sure he will be the first Prime Minister with cerebral palsy.

Australia Day, 2010, Dan is with us this week. Mark is still working with Interchange’s Balance program and is singing and playing harmonica with a new swing blues band. All our boys play music, even Jason loves to have a go at harmonica. I work as a Community Support Worker in Mental Health with EACH. Jess is working as a welder, Josh is a 1st year building apprentice and Sam completed Certificate 4 in Disability, worked for Flexi Care and now works for Nadrasca.

Life has always been busy, but both Dan and Jason have been welcome additions, fitting in with our family life and enriching it.