During my time in Melbourne, I had the privilege of meeting with Leonie Sheedy, Co-Founder and CEO, of the Care Leaver’s Australasia Network (CLAN). CLAN provides support and advocacy to individuals who have grown up in Australian and New Zealand orphanages, missions, children’s homes and foster care.
CLAN was founded in July 2000. Leonie shared with me the interesting story of how the organisation came into being.“CLAN started because of a tiny little newspaper ad in 1992” Leonie recalled. The ad had been placed across a number of local newspapers by Joanna Penglase (Co-Founder). Joanna was completing a PhD thesis exploring the experiences of people who had grown up in state ‘care’. Leonie, a state ward herself, made the decision to contact Joanna. Though they wouldn’t meet in person for another eight years, their paths crossed again when Joanna reached out after concluding her research. “She remembered me”, Leonie commented, “Because I was the angriest one”, always asking “Where are the support services for us”.
In October 2000, Leonie and Joanna organised Australia’s first public meeting for state wards and home children. Leonie recounted her surprise at the number of people attending the event. “People could not believe we were talking about this subject” she reflected. From there, CLAN’s membership and reach began to grow.
At the heart of CLAN’s work is the belief that those who were placed in institutional 'care' deserve to be remembered, supported, and heard. “I don’t want to be called a Forgotten Australian. I want to be a Remembered Aussie”, Leonie stated firmly; reflecting a desire for recognition and empowerment, rather than being defined by what society has overlooked. Originally coined as the title of a Senate enquiry report, the term ‘Forgotten Australian’ carries negative connotations for some. “FA stands for F*** all” voiced Leonie. She also discussed how she felt the term to have been misappropriated in recent years, such as to describe the Lismore flood victims, further muddying its meaning. “It was meant to be the name of a report, not a label put on us” Leonie emphasised. This led us to a broader discussion of the pivotal role of language in shaping understanding and authentically representing lived experience.
We reflected on how the word ‘care’ itself is problematic for many who have grown up within state institutions, as it implies a level of nurture that was all too often absent. “I really can’t stand the word care because for many of us, it wasn’t care” Leonie stated. While some children were fortunate to have been looked after, the majority faced neglect, abuse and deprivation. This complexity is why CLAN has over time developed its own language for members such as ‘Clannies’, Wardies’ and ‘Govo kids’. “You have to call it something” Leonie acknowledged, but it should be the “language of our generation”; language that resonates with those who have lived through the system and that does not cause further pain or insult. Leonie also reflected on the loss of culture inherent in her experiences. “We don’t often talk about white people having a culture, but we do, and mine wasn’t defined by being surrounded by nuns in black gowns who only showed their faces and hands!”
One of the key services CLAN provides is helping ‘care’ leavers' to access their childhood records. For many these records are essential to understanding their past. “Some people don’t even know how they became state wards,” Leonie shared, reflecting on her own personal journey of seeking answers. For those who grew up in orphanages or foster care, finding this information can be the first step toward healing.
In addition to help in accessing state records, CLAN also offers support to locate lost connections; assistance with applications to the National Redress Scheme; help to contact and navigate others services; counselling and signposting. CLAN organises social events and publishes a regular newsletter ‘The Clanicle’. An important part of the organisations work is continued advocacy for fair redress and recognition. CLAN also runs an Australian Orphanage Museum, seeking to preserve the history of children who grew up in state institutions or foster care.
Despite CLAN’s success, Leonie is quick to acknowledge the ongoing challenges ‘care’ leavers face with regards to redress and compensation. She shared heart-breaking stories of individuals who have been denied redress, often due to lack of documentation.“People have died waiting” Leonie said, expressing her frustration with the bureaucratic hurdles encountered through the process. “It’s supposed to be about acknowledging what happened, but instead it re-traumatises people”.
Leonie’s advocacy stems from a deep sense of justice that developed during her own childhood in a Catholic orphanage. “When I was a little girl, I saw a lot of injustice,” she said, recalling how she once helped a younger girl who was punished for not eating. "That was probably the day I got a social conscience," she reflected, highlighting how those early experiences shaped her lifelong commitment to fighting for the rights of ‘care’ leavers. “There is a human cost” Leonie acknowledged, “but there was a human cost long before this role. The cost of not knowing how to be a mother, a member of society”.
Though CLAN has faced many challenges over the years, Leonie remains a fighter. “You bite me once, and I bite you back harder,” she exclaimed. Her passion for justice and unwavering dedication to ‘care’ leavers' continues to drive the organization forward...
(With my heartfelt thanks to Leonie for her time and willingness to share her own personal story).