{"id":87398,"date":"2022-12-02T15:32:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T04:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wesleymission.org.au\/?post_type=news-and-publication&p=87398"},"modified":"2023-12-08T15:30:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T04:30:37","slug":"eloises-story-scholarship-helps-turn-career-dream-into-reality","status":"publish","type":"news-and-publication","link":"https:\/\/www.wesleymission.org.au\/news-and-publications\/eloises-story-scholarship-helps-turn-career-dream-into-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Eloise\u2019s story: scholarship helps turn career dream into reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
It was only supposed to be a two-week stay. But it quickly turned into six months. Then it extended to two years. Before Eloise knew it, 15 years flew by, and she was celebrating her 18th birthday with her aunt and uncle.<\/p>
Aunty Trish and Uncle Rob are Eloise and her two brothers\u2019 kinship carers. When Eloise was just three years old, she and her brothers were removed from the care of their birth mother, due to their mother\u2019s struggle with drug addiction.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for them (Trish and Rob) because they took in three kids and they already had two of their own,\u201d Eloise says.<\/p>
For Eloise, this is her family. She calls her two cousins \u201cbrother\u201d and \u201csister\u201d. And Aunty Trish and Uncle Rob are known as mum and dad. Eloise says she feels thankful to have grown up in such a loving and supportive family.<\/p>
\u201cI’m the first person to say I haven’t had a bad childhood, thanks to my aunty and uncle. It was great. We all went on family holidays, they put us in sport and everything. We never went without.\u201d<\/p>
Eloise has also found extended support through Wesley Dalmar<\/a> \u2013 Wesley Mission\u2019s foster care program. When Eloise was in primary school, the NSW Department of Communities and Justice transferred Eloise and her brothers to Wesley Dalmar. Eloise says she feels grateful to have been supported by several Wesley Dalmar caseworkers over the years, including Nick and Nerissa.<\/p>