Everybody’s waving goodbye ‘cause I’m flying away.’ Lisa’s* daughter sings the lyrics to her favourite song repeatedly. It’s a mantra. A constant reminder that the young girl feels trapped in her pain and in the community which has let her down.
It’s why her mother continues to be fearful for her life and is desperately seeking a way out to get some professional help for her hurting child.
In the aftermath of the incident, officials at the Family Court referred Lisa to Human Services, where she was informed that there were no professional counsellors on staff. She returned to Family Court where Ms Wilkinson agreed to take on the case, despite not being a professional herself. However meetings were sporadic.
“It’s not everyday the children went they would see her. Most of the time when they went she would not be there. Until the last time they went they said Ms Wilkinson’s not working here anymore.”
Taking matters into her own hands, Lisa started pounding the pavement, trying to obtain financial support from local businesses to cover the costs of getting her daughter overseas to trained professionals. So far she has come up empty.
“The letters I made I gave one to Alvina Reynolds, (Minister of Health). She told me I had no proof that I am the person, nothing to back up my story. So I paid for a police report. After I paid for the report, I paid fifty dollars, that’s when they told me I cannot get it because the matter is still under investigation.
Lisa reached out to Opposition Leader Stephenson King, who called the station on her behalf and was able to obtain the document the following day.
“He is trying to see if the government can help to get out with my daughter.”
With things at a standstill, Lisa welcomed the opportunity to share her story on Sarah Peter’s program “Off Limits”, hoping to spark to public interest. Following the show’s airing two weeks ago on Sunday, she started receiving calls from the authorities the very next week, one of which was from the Director of the Family Court, Mrs Rumelia Dalphinis-King.
“She’s telling me you’re lying,” Lisa recalls. “I said why should I lie on my daughter? Your daughter received counselling from Ms Wilkinson, she says. But all I am saying is if Ms Wilkinson is a professional counsellor, why did she refer me to another professional counsellor? So up to now my daughter has not gotten any professional counselling? These people want to make me feel like I did the wrong thing by coming out and talk. I will not keep quiet until I get some help for my daughter because she has nightmares.”
Even regular activities have become difficult for the youngster.
“School just opened last month. She’s in Grade 4. She was doing better but her grades went down. Every term her grades just keep going down and down. Sometimes she doesn’t want to go to school. Sometimes it’s so much trouble for her to go to school. When she goes I have to make sure I pass and make sure I see her in the class.”
Lisa no longer works because in a way she blames herself for her child’s arduous ordeal, always second guessing what might have been if she had been home on that fateful day.
“I resigned after that. I was at work when that happened and you know work on Sundays, work on holidays, so my mind wasn’t at ease so I left.”
A court date has been scheduled for January 29th, 2014 and Lisa’s daughter has to be prepared for the rough seas ahead.
“Mrs King promised to call me on Friday to tell me when I can bring my daughter to prepare her for the court case. Up to now she hasn’t called me. Right now they’re trying to give her some counselling at Human Services. They asked me to bring her in every Monday because they said it’s an emergency.”
Do they now have professional counsellors in their employ?
“They don’t.”
But at this point Lisa is desperate to do anything to regain her once happy-go-lucky little girl that she has essentially lost at the hands of a monster.
“If I don’t do something real fast I’m gonna lose my daughter. You have to see how she behaves. It’s not easy at all. It’s very frustrating. It’s very hard.
I keep on telling her I’m trying, I’m not giving up.
I’m trying. I’m trying. But she’s a child so you have to just try and cope with her.”
Comments are closed.