Meet Jamie - one of our Whitelion Champions
Dec 16, 2019
It doesn’t matter where you come from.
It only matters where you want to go.
Meet Jamie- one of our Whitelion champions
His journey highlights how life experiences should not limit the person we are or have the potential to become.
Before Jamie became involved with Whitelion he’d been described as being ‘vulnerable’ and ‘isolated’, he also had very limited basic life skills in comparison to other young teenagers in his peer group.
We know that young people who are at high risk and living in highly vulnerable life situations can often be portrayed in a negative light. They are often judged from a distance, with limited context and understanding of who they really are, as people.
When Jamie was an 18 month old baby his mother died suddenly. He was moved in to his grandfather’s home to be cared for. While he was living with his grandfather he experienced severe family violence and had to be removed from the home. This marked the beginning of Jamie’s tumultuous foster care journey. Jamie was put into 11 foster care placements for the remainder of his childhood and adolescence.
The latest government figures show that nearly 50,000 Australian children are currently in Out-of-Home care. This is when a child is unable to live with their parents, and alternative arrangements must be found – whether foster care, residential care or through independent living.
The major impact of multiple Out-of-Home care experiences like what Jamie lived through cannot be underestimated. From the trauma of disconnect from his birth family to the upheaval of moving through so many foster families in different areas, which meant starting new schools and struggling to make new friends every year. Jamie had to quit his beloved football team which was very upsetting for him. The lasting impact of multiple traumas through the key developmental years are a common story and can often make for a lifetime of displacement and suffering.
Whitelion know how to reach young people in need, and positively make an impact on their lives
When Jamie was 15 years old he became involved in one of our Mentoring Programs. These programs carefully match young people with positive role models from within the community. These relationships support and assist young people to build their resilience and our mentors empower them to make positive life choices for themselves.
A total of 284 mentor matches were managed across Whitelion Mentoring programs in the past financial year. Each mentor match with a young person costs approximately $5,000 for 18 months. If it produces a mere 10% improvement in life outcomes it will save a state government $74,000 over the course of that person’s life.
Jamie’s mentoring experience also introduced him to our YoungLions Ambassador and Advocacy Program - a volunteer program that brings young people together.
Since Jamie’s involvement in our programs his confidence has grown immensely. He’s still actively engaged with these programs which is an example of his determination and commitment.
Whitelion believes it’s the impact of life circumstances and experiences that create a vulnerability, and that the young people we work with and support are not innately vulnerable people at their core. Instead we see them as being far more than just the story of what happened to them. We see their unwavering resilience, and an untapped potential to shine.
Today Jamie is studying at TAFE, he wants to tell the world how organisation’s like Whitelion help young people like him. Jamie’s dream for the future is to own his own café.
We believe in Jamie and know that he has everything he needs to make his dreams come true and to enable him to live his best life.
Whitelion continues to actively support and guide young people just like Jamie out of high risk life situations and into positive and engaged lives.