Leanne Finlay is benefitting from the wide range of opportunities that Cape York Partnerships has available to the community members of Hope Vale.
With the encouragement and guidance of her MPower Coach, Leanne organised a payment plan for a new couch and dining table with six chairs.
‘Doing a budget really helped me understand how much I could afford to put aside for furniture.’ ‘That day we had the first coaching session, I got really excited about being able to purchase goods from Cairns. The next day I came in to do more coaching to get those payments going.’
After three and a half months of disciplined fortnightly payments, Leanne’s dream of having new furniture became a reality. ‘I was really happy with what I got out of MPower.
I couldn’t stop talking about it. I always tell my girls how proud I am of what I’ve achieved.’
Leanne’s whole family are also enjoying their new possessions. ‘We got a new table, and one of my boys loves it.
He’s so excited about setting the table. Every day he asks me if he can set the table.’
Leanne now feels like she can achieve anything and is continuing her budgeting to purchase new beds for her two sons. ‘I want to do up their room and make it special for them.’
Leanne is also a Strong Families participant. She became involved with the program when she heard Parenting Consultants speaking about It takes a village to raise a child at the Hope Vale women’s group.
Leanne is thoroughly enjoying the camaraderie of the group sessions.
‘I like it, I get excited. I get to go out of the house. If I’m staying at home, I get down, stressed and blue. There I can mix with the ladies, mingle with the women.’
Leanne admits that trying to implement the Triple P strategies at home can be difficult.
‘It’s tough; it took some getting used to.’
Leanne has been implementing the Triple P strategy of giving stickers to acknowledge good behaviour, and she is seeing a really positive change.
‘They listen to me! If I tell them to do something, they do it. They even said, “You do everything for us, now we’ll do something for you.” There’s a big change in my boys.’