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“You know, someone’s age doesn’t define their commitment to be a great parent. I’ve always said you don’t need to support young pregnancy, but you can still support young parents. They need people to surround them during this time, support and community is so important.”
Determined to break ‘generational curses’, Carissa is committed to creating an environment where her children can thrive.
“How my parents did things was often not the best method. I wanted to do better than that and want [my] kids to live a different life than I did.”
Despite experiencing doubt from those around her, Carissa persevered and found a community which supported her to succeed.
“When I first became a parent, my family and the people around me thought I wouldn’t be capable. Being able to watch them [her kids] flourish anyway has been so rewarding.”
“I suppose I have a better support network [now]. A lot of that came from St Phillips Young Parents College – without going there, I wouldn’t have succeeded like I have. There was a lot of support and validation around me, do you know what I mean?”
St Phillips College referred Carissa to Brave Foundation, where she was connected with her mentor, who supported her to figure out what goals were important to her.
One goal stands out as her proudest achievement, “I think my biggest thing is, I was the first in my family to get my HSC – which was huge and a major motivation for me.”
One step at a time, Carissa continues to work towards her career goals, while balancing parenting her three little ones, the youngest of which is still in preschool. Inspired by the support she received while she was at a critical time in her life, she wants to give back to the community who helped her.
“I really wanted to be ambitious, I still am. When I put my heart into something I go all for it – and I hope it works out!”
“My goals now – it’s hard… I’m slowly working towards them. I always said wanted to give back to community after the help that I got… I want to go into youth work or mentor work with young parents.”
For Carissa, her future is marked by stability, adventure and breaking cycles to ensure her children’s childhood is different than her own.
“I want to continue to be a great mum… I see stability in my future which is really really important for me, because I didn’t have this growing up. I want to do more and explore more as a family.”
Carissa continues to advocate to break down stigma for young parents as a member of Brave’s Empowering the Voices of Young Parents (EVYP) Advisory Group. She wants young parents to know that no matter what others might say, they’re still capable of achieving the life they want.
“Young parents are much more capable than people say they are. Just because you’re a young parent, doesn’t mean your life is over. All it means is you turn right instead of going straight ahead. Maybe there’s roadworks on your path and you have to take a detour, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get to your destination.”
Having seen firsthand the transformational impact of early support, Carissa wants other people to understand how they can support young parents.