Helping to turn lives around
Toowoomba’s Murri Court system giving people another shot at life
MAKING a real difference to Toowoomba’s community by helping to turn the lives of offenders around is the aim of those connected to the city’s Murri Court system.
And none are more involved and committed to the cause than Community Justice Group co-ordinator Stacey McCarthy.
Ms McCarthy is the link between the offenders, the Aboriginal Elders and the Murri Court.
Those accepted into the Murri Court system are placed on a program which addresses their particular issues and works on strategies to help turn their lives into a more positive experience and, most importantly, break the cycle of offending.
Typically, offenders are on the program for about three months before being sentenced but others remain for 12 months until they are ready to front court.
“This new program is awesome,” Ms McCarthy said.
“They have to plead guilty in the Magistrates Court first and, if the client agrees, then an eligibility form will be given to the magistrate.
“Then they meet with the elders and me and we do an entry report which is a history of the person’s life. We look to see if they have any issues like alcohol or drugs.
“Then we will put them through a program with such services as Lives Lived Well or Strong Fathers or, for women, the Deadly Sisters Program.
“We’re there to help and support them and to see they get a good outcome.”
At yesterday’s Murri Court sittings in Toowoomba, a number of clients expressed just how important the program was and how much their lives had changed for the better.
“(One client) hadn’t completed a probation order in 23 years but he has done so well on the Murri Court program and turned it all around,” Ms McCarthy said.
“It’s not a soft option for offenders as some people might think.
“Even after they have been sentenced a lot of them keep in contact.
“It’s totally up to them but we encourage them to continue to keep contact with us.”
Another defendant told the court how the Murri Court program had turned his life around from alcohol abuse and offending.
“When I first came to court I had nothing,” he told Magistrate Kay Ryan.
“Now I have a house, a car and a girlfriend.
“I used to drink metho and I lost a lot of friends because of alcohol but now I’m proud of myself and I want to get to the top.”
Magistrate Ryan told the man that was the whole purpose of the Murri Court system.
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