City West Housing Year 9 student Madeleine loves to dance. She has been dancing musical theatre, jazz, hip hop, acrobatics, contemporary, stretch and teen company eight hours a week as an extra-curricular activity for the past six years.
Her mother Tanya says: “It’s good for Maddie’s mental health, good exercise, good for her self-esteem and for making new friends outside school. She loves it and she’s not sitting at home watching TV!”
A single mother who works at a local hospital helping rural patients and their families find nearby accommodation, Tanya burst into tears when told her application for the Aspire Education Fund was successful.
Aspire is an exciting new City West Housing initiative to support young residents to stay in high school. Residents who are parents or primary caregivers of young people currently in Years 7-10 can apply for up to $1,000 a year in support for their child’s education.
Tanya says: “I still get quite emotional when I think about the funding because money is tight and I won’t have to worry about paying the fees for the next 10 weeks.”
Now her 14-year-old daughter, who dreams of a career as a police officer or a flight attendant, can dance her next steps.
