Chapter 8 — Everyday life experiences (female witnesses)

Education

One hundred and eighty (180) witnesses reported being discharged home or to the care of older siblings and extended family. Those witnesses who had been able to maintain contact with their parents, siblings and relatives through visits and holidays during their admission generally reported a more positive outcome when discharged home. Others commented on the difficulty they experienced reintegrating with families from whom they had been separated for a number of years. My mother turned up the day before I was 16. I had not seen her for years. I was handed over to her and we couldn’t relate; I found it very hard to get on with the life and left for England.

Witness reports about their discharge ranged between Schools who provided ongoing support and follow-up to others where witnesses reported being discharged without any discussion or plans, as discussed elsewhere. Forty six (46) witnesses reported being placed directly in employment by School staff when they were discharged. Many expressed ambivalence about the arrangements made for their aftercare. While the stability of accommodation and employment was valued, many reported that the lack of preparation for leaving, including the opportunity to say goodbye, was traumatic. I found a bed-sit myself, I had to leave school as I had no way to feed myself, a teacher found a job for me in a local shop.

Religion

A number of witnesses reported that live-in work arrangements were helpful, providing a place to stay and some security in the absence of family or the necessary skills to live independently. Nineteen (19) witnesses described their first employer as their ‘salvation’ in that they were kind, treated them well and encouraged them to socialise and in some instances to pursue further education or training. A small number of witnesses reported that they remained in their original place of employment for many years and a number have maintained ongoing contact with their former employers.

Twenty nine (29) witnesses reported that when they found themselves in difficulty following discharge, they received help and support from the religious staff in a number of Schools that maintained an informal open-door policy for ex-residents. Three (3) witnesses reported being assisted by religious staff when they became pregnant and were without other support.

Witnesses from a small numbers of Schools reported that they were allowed to live in the School for a period when they were first working while they were getting established. Others reported being offered temporary employment and lodgings at their former School when work placements were not satisfactory and reported being found jobs where they were able to train and prosper.

Health and medical care

The Committee heard several reports from witnesses that former co-residents provided them with a place to stay and assistance with finding work when they were discharged. The women provided a substitute family network for witnesses who reported that they would otherwise have been alone in the world. The witnesses also reported that for some this network of former co-residents has remained a significant support throughout their lives.

Fourteen (14) witnesses reported that they returned to the School for annual summer holidays, in part because they had nowhere else to go, did not know how to make alternative arrangements for themselves and did not want their work colleagues to know they had no family.

Nine (9) witnesses reported being discharged to their ‘holiday’ or ‘foster’ families where they found safety, stability and, for some, life-long support. Other witnesses reported that these families assisted with finding them work and supporting them to become independent following their discharge.

Some changes in practice and procedures for aftercare were reported by witnesses who were discharged during and after the 1970s, with a small number of Schools establishing group homes on the grounds of the old institutions and others providing supported semi-independent living in associated hostels. The Committee heard 12 witness reports of places in hostels or transition houses being found for witnesses when they were discharged. Five (5) of these reports related to discharges after 1970. Other Schools provided practical and financial support for residents to continue education and training.

Four (4) witnesses reported being granted an early discharge to their parents following representations made to various authorities. Two (2) witnesses remained at home, without formal consent, following disclosure of abuse to their parents. Others became aware through records they obtained under the Freedom of Information legislation1 that their parents had made written representations to various authorities seeking their early release. Witnesses who had previously felt abandoned gave accounts of being comforted by this information.

Witness evidence of abuse experienced in the Schools is summarised in the following chapter, much of which was reported to occur in the course of day-to-day life as described above.