Students living in social housing or who are in out-of-home care in Tweed are being encouraged to apply for a new round of scholarships worth $1,000 each, to help them achieve their education and training goals.
Member for Tweed Geoff Provest said 800 scholarships are on offer across the state.
“These scholarships support young people in our local schools and TAFE to achieve their education goals,” Mr Provest said.
“Education is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and this scheme offers a significant hand up to successful applicants in our area.”
Scholarships are available to students in Year 10, 11 or 12 at a NSW high school or TAFE equivalent. They are also open to young people completing a school based apprenticeship or traineeship, or studying a VET subject at school in 2020.
Young people who received the scholarship last year and are moving on to tertiary education, a traineeship or apprenticeship, can also apply.
The program will give priority access to young people living in supported accommodation, identifying as at risk of homelessness, having experienced domestic and family violence, or have been in contact with the Youth Justice system.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said the scholarships help provide a pathway to independence for young people.
“We want to make sure that young people living in social housing or who are in out-of-home care have every opportunity to achieve their goals,” Mr Ward said.
“These scholarships provide a helping hand for young people while they complete their studies and can be used to purchase things like a laptop, internet connection, textbooks or tools for tradies.”
An initiative under Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW, the scholarship program has assisted more than 1,000 students since 2017.
For more information on how to apply, visit www.facs.nsw.gov.au/scholarships.