“It takes a village to raise a child”

Sydney, 26 July 2017

Greenland Australia and its joint venture partner in Park Sydney Erskineville, GH Australia, have made Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets their charity of choice for the project. Youth homelessness and the myriad of social problems that lie behind it remain a scourge nationally. An estimated one in four Australian children have been exposed to domestic violence for example, and the real number is probably higher as more offences go unreported. Drug, alcohol and mental health issues are also widespread.

Youth off the Streets held its 2017 Open Day in Merrylands today. They opened their first school in 1996 and now have six accredited high schools across NSW where children who ‘fall through the cracks’ in the regular school system receive intensive teaching and another chance. Students are taught the regular NSW curriculum but the approach to learning is different. Teachers focus on what the child is good at and help them master that skill set.

The underlying lesson kids are taught is probably one that all parents would do well to copy. Youth off the Streets call it their “Circle of Courage” and the four steps involved are Belonging, Mastery, Generosity and Independence. Conflict resolution skills are another integral part of Youth off the Streets schools, as are service learning programs. These programs involve kids volunteering their time to help others or gaining relevant work experience.

The outreach service is free for young people, goes to favourite outdoor ‘hang-outs’ and relies a lot on peer-to-peer word of mouth to be successful. They offer food, music and games and find that this encourages kids to share any problems they may be having at home. Outside agencies are called upon as appropriate. The youth workers had nearly 17,000 contacts in the last financial year and between them they speak 17 different community languages.

3 YOTS Staff

Relaying the story of Islamic friends of his who no longer catch the train to Sydney from Wollongong because of feeling unsafe, Father Chris Riley said Australians hear too much about external threats to society and not enough about marginalised kids here. He also promised the audience of 200 or so that Youth off the Streets will go on giving victimised children a voice.

The most impressive statement of the day, however, may belong to a trainee youth worker from the Samoan community in Campbelltown. Jenny (not her real name) admitted growing up with people who broke the law and had a friend to thank for introducing her to Youth off the Streets. Jenny finished her interactive presentation with, “Hope is about the actions we take and not the promises we make.”

The four underlying values of Youth off the Streets: Passion, Integrity, Dedication and Engagement (PRIDE).

https://youthoffthestreets.com.au/

http://www.parksydney.com.au/