“My Mum died because her body couldn’t handle the drugs anymore. Nan is like our Mum now and does everything for us.”

“My Mum died because her body couldn’t handle the drugs anymore. Nan is like our Mum now and does everything for us.”

I stopped living with my parents because they used a lot of drugs and couldn’t look after us. They would fight a lot and leave us home alone or with people we didn’t know. I had to look after my younger brother and sister most days so I didn’t go to school much. It got pretty bad and we couldn’t stay with them anymore.

Anyway, me, my sister Nicole and younger brother James all moved in with our Nan 3 years ago. It was hard to begin with. We moved away from our house and friends and had to go to a new school. Nan’s house is small so we had to share a room which made us fight a lot. Nan had to quit her job to look after James at home. But we like Nan’s house, she is a good cook and makes us what we like.

Nan can be strict but there aren’t any big fights. She hugs us a lot which is a bit embarrassing when she drops us at school. I started year 7 this year and I am playing footy and cricket. We sometimes see Dad but Mum died 6 months ago because her body couldn’t handle the drugs anymore. Although we didn’t see her much I still miss her. Nan is like our Mum now and does everything for us.