He had separated from the mother of their son before the birth. Unable to see his child, he was forced to navigate a legal system he found completely alienating. Feeling that no one listened or cared, he eventually began to lose hope. The prospect of not being able to build a relationship with his son left a huge hole inside him.
Nathan’s KND journey began he joined our weekly National online support meetings. There, he found valuable insights and information, but also crucial peer support. “Mainly I felt I was not alone,” he says of those first meetings.
He was soon connected with KND Fieldworker Luke. “Like a lot of dads that come to us, he was distraught and at the end of the road,” remembers Luke. “He was fighting a losing battle alone.”
Luke helped Nathan refocus his approach with the Family Court, encouraging a “less is more” strategy with documentation and helping him manage expectations about what would be possible. “Presenting something more realistic to the court was fundamental to getting a breakthrough,” says Luke.
With Luke alongside him, Nathan attended a Judicial Settlements Conference earlier this year. None of the participants expected progress, with the case seemingly destined for a hearing. “When I presented my revised parenting plan, you could feel the surprise in the room,” says Nathan. “Even the Judge seemed surprised.”
The mood in the courtroom changed, and Nathan was thrilled to find his plan largely accepted. For the first time, he was to have unsupervised contact with his son, with the frequency and length of visits increasing over the coming weeks.
As of now, Nathan has his son stay overnight three days each fortnight – something he never would have believed possible a few years earlier. “I could not be happier,” he says. “Ultimately, I would like fifty-fifty shared care, but at this stage, I feel we are all in a great place.”
*Names have been anonymised to protect privacy.
Home Page