A teenager with complex needs has found a permanent placement after his parents were forced to leave him in an emergency respite facility.
In September, Jack's mother Ger contacted Lunchtime Live to say she was concerned he could die and to plead with the State to find him respite care.
When none was forthcoming, the family took the “drastic measure” of not collecting him from an emergency respite placement back in August.
Speaking to Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Jack’s mother Ger said the family have recently had good news.
“Jack’s placement has been found and he moved yesterday,” she said.
“He moved into what I would call his second home; it’s been a long, hard few months I have to say.”
The family are now looking forward to Christmas, which Ger expects will be a much happier and relaxed affair than it was in 2022.
“This time last year, I was standing in the house with emergency services worried that I had had a stroke,” she said.
“I was wiping blood off our walls after Jack had harmed himself. It’s a very different Christmas this year.”
'A better future for our boy'
Ger said she felt hugely “ashamed” after she left Jack but now feels she made the right decision.
“I felt guilty; I didn’t want to see anybody, I just felt total shame about what we had done to our boy,” she said.
“But we had to stay strong, we had to hold firm, because we knew that there was a better life for Jack to be had [and] I’m at peace now.
“I’m not ashamed anymore, I’m not guilty, I know that we have made a better future for our boy.”
Jack will celebrate Christmas in his new home and Ger said Santa Claus is aware of his change of address.
“We’re all looking forward to Santy going to him in his new house and Santy will be very generous this year because he’s been a very good boy,” she said.
In a statement to Newstalk, the HSE said reforms in adolescent mental health care have been a “priority” in recent years.
The health service conceded that “improvements still need to be made” but said it is “determined” to make further changes in the future.
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Main image: Jack. Image: Jack's family.
