Young mums combining school and parenting received tech support from an unlikely source this week.
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The Yuille Park Community College Young Parents Program received a $5000 grant from the RACV Good Citizen Program and spent it immediately on laptops to support the students’ study.
On an average day there are about 14 mothers and their babies attending the program, and until now there’s been a shortage of computers for them to work on.
“We had some desktop computers and because we have a lot of girls they’ve had to share them. Now when we run two separate programs they’ll both have access to high level technology,” said coordinator Peter Innes.
The program supports young mothers aged 14 to 21, offering education and training alongside childcare and early childhood education for their children.
Those children currently range in age from just a week old to 3½.
“It’s like a family and the girls describe it like being a family. We really care for them. Part of the course is literacy and numeracy outcomes but the greater part is caring for their social and emotional wellbeing,” Mr Innes said.
“They are very special young ladies and they just need a lot of TLC.”
As well as literacy and numeracy, a trainer comes in one day a week to run a certificate three course in business management, and some students operate a cafe one day a week at Ballarat Community Health Centre under the supervision of staff.
“They are getting greater belief in their own abilities. Sometimes their circumstances are not that great, but being involved in these opportunities helps given them a sense of worth,” Mr Innes said.
Strong community support has helped the Young Parents Program, and their young charges, thrive over the past 11 years.
“The RACV community grant program is fantastic and we’ve had some assistance through other programs. They are one of our really good corporate supporters,” he said.
“If we didn’t have the level of corporate support we get through the Ballarat community our program would not run. The corporate and service group support we get is critical to run the program.”
RACV Goldfields resort manager Stephen Roberts said the grant was a great opportunity to help a group who was supporting their local community.
“Having visited the school, I can see it offers an opportunity that no one else offers to them. They can undertake their training and study at a time that suits them and in a way that fits their lifestyle, which isn’t offered elsewhere.”