Often during quieter periods in conferencing, Local Commissioners will take it upon themselves to go for a drive around the community in the FRC vehicle, just to see if there may be a client or two for whom a little gentle persuasion is all it takes to encourage attendance at conference.
In one particular instance, two Local Commissioners doing their regular drive through the community sighted a community member who was scheduled to attend conference later that day. The woman was headed towards the creek, and the Commissioners pulled over to speak with her. Agitated, she told them, “I’ll be up later. I’m going to the river to calm down. I’ve had enough”. Noting the client’s distress, the Commissioners gently suggested she come up now and join them for a cup of tea. As she climbed into the car, the woman pulled a filleting knife from under her clothing and handed it to a Commissioner.
On arrival back at the FRC office, the Commissioners sat and drank tea with the client and listened while she unburdened her troubles. Half an hour later, with the client now calm, the Commissioners conducted a conference and referred the client on a case plan to see a community mental health worker. One of the Commissioners then drove the client directly to the service provider, where she was handed into their care.
This story highlights the fact that, in many cases, the success of the Commissioners lies in not only what has been done, but in what has been prevented. We cannot measure the number of children who have been prevented from being taken into care. It is impossible to know the domestic violence incidents that have not happened, and we cannot count the suicides that have been averted by the work the Commissioners have done in their communities.
