Henry's Story

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My name's Henry. I'm 20 years old. I've just become a father to a baby girl. She's awesome as, three months old. I was raised with a lot of gangs and violence until I was five years old. Then I went into CYPs. I think I had about seven or eight placements, something like that. I remember that it just wasn't home. It never felt good.

I changed schools a lot. It sucks. I wasn't a star pupil at school. I was pretty shit at school and my learning wasn't that great. You meet people and then you have to move again and again and again. I always went to school. I tried to learn, but it just never really worked out. If I'd stayed in one school, yep, one school, it would have helped my whole life. It would have been a lot better if I was settled down.

My mum got us out from CYPs when I was 13. She fought for us. She didn't stop. Being home with my mum, my brothers and my sisters, I just felt free. I started staying at one school after that, but because of what I went through when I was a kid, I was set in my ways. It wasn’t good.
TYMS helped me out heaps with everything. They understood heaps, like how we roll, how we grew up – they have a fair idea, so it was like we are all in the same boat. It felt good, felt like brothers you know. Like everyone understood on the same level that I was on.

The main thing was they communicated. Everything they done was just about understanding. If you don't understand this way then we'll show you another way to help you get the equation or whatever it is. I felt good. It made me want to learn more and do more, because I understood. And that's all it is you know, to understand how to do stuff. When I first started the course I was shit at learning and then by the end of the course, far out – I was surprised I was the top at learning and stuff like that. I was blown away.

When I graduated my family was there, my mum and my dad and my partner. My family were happy, proud of me. I am proud of myself as well. What I achieved and what I could achieve in life. Like I know I can do it now.

Being with TYMS gave me a good outlook on life and how it could be. It doesn't have to be the other way. I want my daughter to have a stable life. I'll be there all the time, I’ll work hard for my family. I want to be a mechanic, and own a shop. That would be cool as. I know the steps how to get to that place now.
"I would dream about family and just being in one place and growing up in an area and knowing everyone."