Nioka's Story
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Before Youth Insearch, Nioka’s childhood was full of traumatic experiences relating to sexual assault, drug and alcohol abuse, family violence, domestic violence, neglect and physical assault. Nioka came to Youth Insearch when she was 12 years old because she was looking for a place that could accept and support her through a very challenging life.
Growing up in a home where the life that was only known to her, Nioka experienced neglect, hatred, being exposed to drugs and alcohol on a daily basis and being sexually abused at a very young age. Nioka says, “Life felt cold, I felt alone, I felt I would never know what real love was, I felt I would never amount to anything.” Through Youth Insearch Nioka has been able acknowledge that it is possible to overcome your past to create a brighter future – the future that you want and that we can use our experiences to help others.
Nioka is now a mum of two beautiful children and they live in a loving home. There is no smoking, drinking or drugs in the family which Nioka acknowledges that many of the people that she grew up with have resorted to that lifestyle. She has now come back to Youth Insearch after a few years as a support adult supporting young people that she works with. Nioka has recently started a new job as the Indigenous Support Worker for St Phillips where she works with young mums and dads aged 14-22 years old. Her role is to support them in all areas of their life and at first Nioka thought to get them involved with Youth Insearch as it was a big part of her life transformation when she was younger and is one of the reasons why she is so passionate in helping young people.
Without her involvement with Youth Insearch, Nioka believes that she would be stuck in the same cycle that she was getting in to when she was younger where she was shutting down and withdrawing from family, friends and life in general. Nioka says, “Youth Insearch made me for the first time feel like part of a family. I felt I could be myself, I knew I wasn’t alone. Youth Insearch gave me a different perspective on life.” Nioka believes it is now her job to show other young people that it is possible to overcome their pasts and to also help them realise that you can turn any negative into a positive.