BREAKING THE CYCLE

PLAN TARGETS TEEN MUMS:

LAZARIAH Creek and Karlissa Fisher left their Cape York communities to finish high school at Wangetti Beach and ensure a brighter future for their babies.

They were just 15 when their children were born and faced the risk of being snared in a perpetual cycle of welfare and life on the bread line.

The 17-year-olds found a new home and destiny at Cape York Girl Academy, where they receive childcare and health support alongside customised education programs.

“There is childcare for Stanley and extra support for me – the parenting program, playgroup, small classes and a tailored learning plan as well as my own room,” said Ms Creek, from Hope Vale.

Ms Fisher from Ramingining in the Northern Territory said, because there was no school in her community, she had nobody to help care for her daughter Nicole if she had to move to Darwin.

Principal Leanne Fox said five of the 20 boarders at the girl academy had babies.

The school, which opened at the start of last year, relies on a significant amount of philanthropic support to keep its doors open.

Ms Fox hoped the Parents Next program would make it easier for young mothers to ac- cess education and training without having to sacrifice their parenting payments and switch to the smaller pensioner education supplement.

“The intention is … to break the welfare cycle,” she said.

“It would be great to have a new stream, so girls don’t have to forgo all their parenting payments to go to school.”

Picture: BRAD NEWTON PHOTOGRAPHY BRIGHTER FUTURE: Cape York Girls Academy students Lazariah Creek, 17, from Hope Vale with her 17-month old son Stanley (left) and Karlissa Fisher, 17, from Ramingining in the Northern Territory with her two-year-old daughter Nicole and childcare...