Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘It got me back on to
Community initiative gets glowing inspection report
WHEN Emily Mather’s stepdad died, she admits she was close to going off the rails.
The 16-year-old from Kirkton in Dundee said she found it very difficult to cope with her loss and — among other things — regularly bunked off school. But now, the teenager has completely turned her life around and last night was signed for Dundee United women’s team.
Today, she told the Tele that it’s thanks to help she received from a Dundee City Council initiative — the Community and Learning Development project — that her life is very different from what it could have been.
Emily said it was through CLD involvement that she was introduced to the Target Youth Project at the Dundee International Sports Complex (DISC), at which she became involved with football.
She said: “They were the ones who encouraged me to get back to school.
“I had pretty much dropped out after my stepdad died, but through them I got back on my feet.
“They gave me back my confidence and as well as the football, I am now doing a full-time placement at Dundee and Angus College in construction crafts.”
Emily was speaking as the CLD project received a glowing report from watchdog Education Scotland.
The report said the CLD had an “excellent” i mpact on the community.
The initiative was rated as “very good” in three other categories — including learning opportunities delivered, leadership and direction, and improvements in performance.
Projects highlighted include the East End Summer Holiday programme and the Our Place 2 project in the Douglas area, which saw an increased level of community consultation.