Chloe's Story | Youth Insearch

On

Fri, 24/11/2017 - 10:24

Tags

Newsletter, Stories

I lost my Dad when I was quite young and I’ve always felt a great sense of loss not having been able to grow up with him. My family have always been loving but we faced issues of domestic violence and emotional abuse in our home.

Before Youth Insearch I was a very lost, angry and rebellious teenager. I had no respect for boundaries or authority. As a result of this I was constantly in trouble and became very disengaged from school. I was sent to anger management classes, psychologists and was continuously suspended. In Year 9 I was expelled. With the help of my assistant principal and guidance counselor, I was given one last chance to prove myself and I was sent to my first ever Youth Insearch program.

Youth Insearch helped me work through the grief I was experiencing as a result of not knowing my Dad and dealing with abuse in the home growing up. I was given skills to help remain calm when I was angry without lashing out at people and skills to effectively communicate with people in a positive way. 

Youth Insearch taught me how important it is to love and be loved and to not let past experiences be a burden rather a motivator to do bigger and better things. Being involved in Youth Insearch gave me the opportunity to do many things including travelling interstate, being an active part of both State and National council and participating in strategy planning for the organisation.

My short term goals are to have more savings for my house deposit in my bank. Longer term, I’d like to have a successful, well established career and a loving family of my own. Whatever I’m doing I just want to be happy. 

Without Youth Insearch, I imagine I would still be very lost and angry. I probably wouldn’t have much drive or ambition to do things with my life and I wouldn’t have positive relationships with my friends or family. 

All aspects of my life are going really well. I successfully completed Year 12 and now work full time for the Department of Employment. I have gained a lot of knowledge and skills in my role. I’m very well respected within my company and am always being given more responsibility to take on. I never would have thought I’d be able to say that!

I have rebuilt the broken relationships in my family and we are now stronger than ever, I can’t put into words how grateful I am of this. I would like to ensure Youth Insearch continues to help the lives of young people for many generations to come.