Harry* was just 16 years old* when he first joined Youturn’s Supported Independent Living (SIL) program, after being supported through Youturn’s Residential Care Program.

Over the course of his young life, Harry had experienced domestic and spousal abuse, and significant trauma, and as a result had difficulties self-regulating his emotions. Harry engaged in significant substance misuse, often used as a means to regulate his feelings and emotions.

When first entering the SIL program, Harry was motivated to make a change in his life. Throughout his time with the SIL team, Harry worked extremely hard to achieve some outstanding outcomes.

Making the decision to minimise substance misuse was a big goal for Harry. His SIL team supported Harry to connect with a psychologist that understood his experiences, and that Harry felt comfortable with. Through this support, Harry was able to start to recognise his triggers, and learned to express his thoughts and feelings in a positive way. Over time, Harry was able to minimise his substance misuse, which gave him a clearer mindset to work toward achieving his goals. Harry explored alternate strategies to manage his emotions by developing a strong connection to country music and taking time to process triggers, prior to reacting.

Over time, Harry’s confidence grew, and he was able to identify relationships that were no longer healthy for him. With support from the SIL team, Harry worked hard on his self-worth, and became more and more empowered to make decisions about his life.

Dedicated to completing his studies, Harry worked extremely hard and graduated from high school, enrolled in a Cert IV in Youth Work and would now like to give back and help others who find themselves in a similar situation to his own. Harry now wants to use all the knowledge and experiences he has gained to help others.

Now living independently, Harry can see the great things his future may hold, and is working harder than ever to achieve his big dreams.

*Names and ages have been changed