Amo was 18 years old with a thriving beauty business; life was going well for her when one change in circumstance brought things crashing down. Fortunately, her sister knew about Visionwest and suggested Amo give us a call.
Amo contacts Visionwest
I was 18 years old with my own business in the beauty industry. Things were going well for me, life was great, but then I got pregnant, and things fell apart. Suddenly, I felt like I just couldn’t cope. Small things became big things. I was so stressed and unsure of my future and where my life was headed.
My sister suggested I contact Visionwest. I’m not sure how she found out about them originally, but she’d spent time at Ōhinga Tū [Visionwest’s youth service] and found it really helpful. To be honest, she didn’t really give me a choice. Straightaway she texted them my number and a short time later, I got a call from Keegan, one of the Visionwest Youth Coaches.
At that point, I wasn’t sure what I was wanting from Visionwest. The one thing I was really certain of was that I needed some help. I’d lost focus in life. I was stressed and struggling. The bottom-line is, I was young and scared; I didn’t know how to be a mum.
Ōhinga Tū promises rangatahi (young people), “If you are a young person looking to find purpose, motivation and work, Ōhinga Tū is the place for you,” and it was the perfect place for Amo. Keegan met with Amo, and plans were made for him to become her youth coach – a mentoring relationship that lasted about a year.
It’s hard to ask for help. That’s probably the hardest part of making changes in your life, especially for a young mum because we know that we’ve put ourselves in this situation and so asking for help is difficult but if there was one thing I needed in my life back then it was guidance. I was lost and in shock about being a mum; I needed guidance.
Amo meets her Ōhinga Tū youth coach
When asked about meeting Keegan and becoming part of Ōhinga Tū, Amo says she felt, “safe.”
Coming to Ōhinga Tū and getting to know my Youth Coach, I felt my stress level drop straightaway. I could tell I was somewhere that was safe and judgement-free. Sometimes it can feel like there’s a barrier between a Youth Coach and the youth but, with Keegan, I felt like I’d met a friend. He was so friendly, open, and non-judgmental, and, best of all, he would listen more than he would talk.
As soon as I became a part of Visionwest, I felt like things were going to work out.
As part of their youth coaching, Keegan worked with Amo on creating and achieving some life goals.
Every time Keegan and I met we’d go over the specific goals that I wanted to achieve. There were all sorts of things. A big one was getting my boy into Kōhanga because in Tāmaki Makaurau, most Kōhanga have a waiting list of at least two years. So, it was good to have someone guiding me through that.
Amongst Amo’s other achievements were gaining her driver’s licence (something she is especially pleased about because it means she can take her son to Kōhanga and other places) and completing both a budgeting course and a parenting course.
I also did a business course. That felt like a real achievement. Even though that course wasn’t through Visionwest, it was the Youth Coaches who gave me the confidence to go for it and do well in it.
Although it’s not really a goal, another big thing for me was having someone there who would check up on me and ask, ‘How are you doing today?’ That meant a lot because, although I have strong support from my own family, being a young mum can be lonely and it was awesome to know that just down the road is a group of people who really care for me.
When asked about what life might be like today without the help of Keegan and Ōhinga Tū, Amo is realistic.
I think I would still have managed to get through, but it would have taken me a lot longer, like with getting my driver’s licence and things. When things are going well it’s quite easy to jump online and book something but when you’re stressed and you’re busy with a little boy, those same things can sometimes feel just too hard and it’s easy to put things off until another day. So, having someone encouraging you and pushing you to do those little things was a real stress off my shoulders.
Amo’s youth coach, Keegan
At this point, Keegan jumps into share his perspective as Amo’s Youth Coach, “You know, Amo always had the motivation to do what she wanted to do, she just needed, as she said, a little guidance and someone to help her to believe in herself. In the middle of the stress of where she was at, she forgot how good and talented she actually is. Now she’s got her driver’s licence and has completed her business course. With that and all else she’s achieved, well, it’s quite something on top of caring for her boy.”
Amo feels more settled now. She feels like she’s a good mum and takes pride in how well her son is doing. She has started thinking about plans for the future and, aside from being a happy and healthy family with her son, is already thinking about revitalising her business.
Paper-wise, my time with Visionwest and meeting with my Youth Coach has finished, but friendship-wise, I know Keegan will always be there for me. Even now, because Visionwest is literally just around the corner from my home, I’ll see Keegen driving past and it’s great to wave out and say, ‘Hi.’
Amo and Christmas From The Heart
Visionwest has been such a big part of my life. Let me give you an example. Last year, it was coming up to Christmas. I had all the usual weekly bills and things, but I didn’t have enough money; I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my boy’s presents and stuff like that. Little did I know that Visionwest had planned a Christmas Event [Christmas From The Heart]. They had pretty much built a supermarket where we could go shopping. There was pretty much enough for five meals. That’s a lot. Like for that time I didn’t even have to think about the meal. That took a lot of stress away. They had planned all the meals out that had everything you needed in the meals and even told you how to cook them.
And they had another section where kids were able to pick their presents. It was in early December, and, at that moment, I hadn’t bought my son anything. We went into the gift room where he was able to choose a present that he liked; he chose a ball. Anyway, later I was able to scrape up a little money to buy him some presents from me, but you know what his favourite present was? The gift we got from Visionwest, and I think that just showed a lot, really. It just felt like someone cared. That was really nice.
Read another inspirational Ōhinga Tū story – Shekainah’s Story – Gluing the Pieces Together.
Find out more about Ōhinga Tū, Visionwest’s Youth Solutions team.
** We understand that it is a great privilege when someone generously agrees to share their story. This blog and other material are shared with Amo’s permission, and we thank her for her generosity.