by Sahar Foladi
Concern Australia in Dandenong has won more than $800,000 federal funding to expand its work as a ‘circuit breaker’ for at-risk youth.
The organisation works with vulnerable young people aged from 5 to 25 with employment, resume building, housing, homelessness, youth justice and other services.
The youth empowerment grant will help extend its existing Hand Brake Turn program, a five-week automotive training program to provide pathways to employment and further training.
Chief executive Judith Atkinson says the funding will support 100 young people aged between 14 to 17 during the grant’s two-year period.
“The reason we applied for this funding is young people kept asking if they can come back and do another course, do more workshops. We knew we had to find a way to continue this positive work.
“What’s brilliant about the funding is it’s giving us the time to work longer with people. It’s a very great investment in the young people’s future.”
The funding will allow the organisation to employ additional two part-time youth workers in Dandenong to run the extra weekly sessions with the participants to ensure they’re employed.
“It strengthens the connections through weekly sessions, team-building, doing projects.
“Sometimes they need extra help to make those things work. It will help us support them longer term, ensure they transition to employment and training.”
Hand Brake Turn has mentored about 10,000 participants in Dandenong over the past 30 years.
It is the biggest HBT program with outreach to South East suburbs such as Cranbourne and Berwick.
Atkinson says schools and Youth Justice supported the funding application because they could see the benefits.
“A lot of (participants) arrive when they are disengaged, or maybe gone down a pathway that’s not best for them.
“We call it a circuit breaker. As well as learning skills, we do a lot of life skills to encourage them to think about what it is they would like to do, and we positively connect them with employment and mentoring opportunities.
“We’ve had young people go from not engaging with anything into jobs, apprenticeships, go back to school, Tafe – 70 per cent have gone into a positive pathway.”
The hands-on experience also includes building their resume and help seek jobs with local automotive employers.
At the same time, it seeks to minimise any anti-social behaviours and divert young people’s contact with the youth justice system.
