Teenage girls who are single, pregnant and living in care are unlikely participants in mainstream pre and post natal classes or other educational and support services offered in the community.

CARA’s In Safe Hands program provides support and care for these young women who are mums-to-be or young mums and who do not have extended family support or partners to help during their pregnancy or after the birth of their baby. Living in supported accommodation with a house parent, the young women learn about caring for their babies as well as receiving educational and life skills supports.

As the young women in the program have experienced family breakdown, In Safe Hands provides the young women with skills to be confident parents and to make positive choices about their future and the future of the babies.

Living and sharing experiences with other young women also reduces the social isolation of these young women and as well as the feeling of “being different” from their friends and peers.