Jadynne Harvey had a difficult start to life and did not attend school until he was eight years old and in the care of Sister Carmel Christie, a Sister of Mercy, who was his foster mother for the next eleven years. From his early experiences has come the desire to help young people to promote issues affecting them.
At age fifteen, Jadynne was active in the establishment of the Council of Young People in Care, and he has since been involved with the Youth Plus Ministerial Advisory Council and the Edmund Rice Camps program. His work with young people was honoured in 2001 with the awarding of a Queen’s Trust Recognition Award, and the ETSA Utilities Youth and Community Service Award in the Young Australian of the Year Awards (2000).
Jadynne Harvey is studying for a doctorate in psychology and geography and has received a Don Dunstan Foundation Scholarship to assist him in this.