A message from our Young Ambassador, Matthew Taylor...

It's been six months since I was asked to be Kids Under Cover's first Young Ambassador.

During this time I have been involved in many exciting new things so when the opportunity came up to write to you personally, I jumped at the chance.I hope my story will inspire you to considersupporting Kids Under Cover this tax time.

Your donation can make such a powerful difference to the lives of young people like me, who are either homeless or at risk of being homeless.

When I was younger, my parents used to foster kids, lots of kids. More than 40 over the past ten years in fact! Our house wasn't very big and there were just too many kids in it. I had to share a room with my brothers and we just couldn't get along. I wasn't coping with not having a quiet place to myself. It was easier to go out with mates when the house was so crowded. I soon got in with the wrong crowd and started getting up to mischief in the city, which resulted in me going to court when I was 17. Things were really bad at school too. I am dyslexic so every day was difficult because I struggled so much with reading and writing.

At that point I suppose it could have gone either way. I wanted to grow up and have a normal life but I didn't know how. Luckily a social worker told me about the Kids Under Cover Studio program. And it was this that changed the lives of my family and me forever.

Once I moved into the studio in my parents' backyard, I spent a lot more time at home. It lessened the tension. I had my own bedroom, bathroom and study area. I'm a really independent person so I love having my own space but it's great knowing mum and dad are only a few metres away. When I applied for a Kids Under Cover Scholarship my life took another positive turn. Thanks to the Scholarship Program, I am now living my dream of being a multimedia designer. I even have my own clients!

I hope my role as Young Ambassador will show kids it is possible to avoid being homeless. Living on the streets is not the way to go because you lose out on a lot of opportunities. I recently ran into one of my old friends from the street and it really hit home how far I have come and where I could have ended up. These kids, like Krista above and me until not long ago – don't know how to make a better life for themselves. Kids Under Cover helped me to see a brighter future and now I am living my dream.

Please help change more lives of young people like me by making a donation today. Thank you for reading my story.